The Tsars’ Private Hunting Ground (1888–1915)

Abstract

In September 1888, Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF) together with the adjacent Świsłocz Forest was transferred to the Tsar’s family private property managed by the Ministry of Imperial Court. This was in order to secure better protection for European bison and turn the Forest into the Tsar’s private hunting ground. In the years following the transfer, the imperial palace designed by Nicolas de Rochefort was erected, along with accompanying infrastructure. Game management was given priority in the overall administration of the Forest, and royal hunts were organized in 1894, 1897, 1900, 1903 and 1912. Forest inventories carried out in 1889–1890 and in 1909–1911 assigned low volumes of oler timber to be extracted. This extraction was further limited according to Tsar Nikolai II’s wish to sustain the original, primeval appearance of the Forest. In the period from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, a wave of botanists, zoologists, forestry scientists, and veterinarians, passed through BPF and produced several landmark works on various key aspects of its natural values. However, more rigorous control of the new administration over forest use led to increased number of conflicts with local dwellers. This chapter considers the management and administration of the Forest during this critical period in its history.