The Blavian Desert

When it comes to picturesque places, it has become common to describe such places with the term „wonders of nature” – but, can a wonder of nature be created by human hands? Can it be something that mother nature would actually be proud of? Sometimes comes a situation when devastated, post-industrial areas can become a precious natural area. For example, we have a beautiful Zakrzówek Lagoon in a former quarry in Kraków, or the colorful lakes in Rudawy Janowickie. But perhaps the most famous example of a man-made wonder of nature, which is protected and uniquue on a nation-wide scale is the Blavian Desert (Pustynia Błędowska).

Did you ever wonder why is there a desert in the middle of Poland? We should begin by noticing, that from the geographic point of view, it is not a desert, but rather volatile sands with anthropogenic origins, which means it was created by man. What can be seen today as the Blavian Desert is just a substitute of something that was once known as the Great Blavian Desert, extending at a giant area of about 150 square kilometers. For comparison, today’s area of the Blavian Desert is not much more than 30 square kilometers, part of which are volatile sands.

For centuries, the Blavian Desert actuallyb had morec resemblings to an actual desert. But the situation changed after World War II, when the decision was made to eliminate the desert area. To do so, pine trees were planted.

It wasn’t until the 21st century, that most people realized that it might not be the best solution decided to save the Blavian Desert from forestation.