The Romincka Forest is an expanse of forest located in the northeastern corner of Masuria. It has the character of a northern forest, which is why it is sometimes called the Polish taiga.
Half of the forest belongs to Poland, while the other lies in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. Plenty of spruce trees grow here and yellow cloud-berries, typical of Scandinavia, grow in the vast bogs and swampy forests. Temperatures are among the lowest in Poland, the winter is long, cold and snowy. Due to its atypical character for our country, as well as the presence of rare plant species, the area has been placed under the protection of a landscape park.
Well-organized and described hiking and biking trails encourage wilderness exploration and communing with nature. To the west, the landscape park encloses Lake Gołdap and the health resort of the same name. Gołdap was the destination of what was probably the only trip in the lifetime of Immanuel Kant, a classic of German philosophy from Königsberg.
On the eastern border of the forest is the village of Żytkiejmy, where the management of the landscape park is located. The southern boundary of the park is marked by an old, disused railroad line.
Two historic railroad viaducts in the Stańczyki village are a particularly picturesque site. The 200-meter-long and 36-meter-high reinforced concrete structures tower over the valley.
The viaducts have long been out of service, and nature has taken complete possession of their surroundings. In a wild take, they look like monuments to a lost civilization.
EXPLORE THE REGION – MASURIA
