Partners
The Municipality Office of Suraż
18-105 Suraż
ul. 11-go Listopada 16
tel/fax (085) 650 31 84
mail:
suraz@zgwrp.org.pl
Area of municipality: 76 km²
Population: 2171
Number of transactors: 92
The municipality of Suraż is located
in a primeval valley of the Narew River. It encompasses the areas of
marshes that since 1996 have been taken under protection of the
Narwiański National Park. This is also a place where a 45-kilometer
water route, especially liked by the fans of canoeing rally, leads
through the territories of the park up till Rzędziany. A very slight
level of air pollution, its appropriate humidity as well as a high
content of ethereal oils produced by the flora of the woods and
fields are the next advantages attracting tourists. On the territory
of the municipality, especially in the vicinity of Doktorce, there
are about 500 places in eco-friendly lodgings and resorts awaiting
the tourists. Additionally, the well-marked bicycle, canoeing and
hiking routs encourage visits in this beautiful area.
The authorities of the Suraż
municipality are actively interested in the matters of ecology, both
in a sense of infrastructure as well as education. In the year 2002
a sewage system was built on the territory of Suraż: the further
plans include also the construction of private domestic sewage
plants and reduction of dust emission into the air thanks to the
exchange of coal furnaces into oil ones in the building of Suraż
Community Centre.The municipality of Suraż takes care of ecology
also in other interesting ways. Each year in Suraż there are annual
parties, competitions and picnics devoted to ecology organised.
Among of them are for example the Days of the National Parks, which
take place in the second half of May, the Cleaning of the World in
September, the competition for the best ecological outfit, the
competition for an animal made of secondary materials, the
Competition of Ecological Knowledge in May, the Day of the Earth in
April, photographical contest for the most beautiful place of the
municipality in May, a project for ‘School Herbal Gardens’ starting
in April and ending in September, an art contest called ‘The World
of Storks’ in February, an educational project ‘Stork’, which
concentrates on the calculations of the nests and observation of
stork’s population on the territory of the Suraż municipality, and
also a collection of secondary materials in April.
The biggest concentration of historic
sites in Podlasie is situated on the territory of presently small
Suraż, which is not a surprise taking into account the rich historic
traditions the town possesses. The urban layout consists of two
parts divided by the Narew River, the lay one on the left bank and
the ‘Russian’ one on the right bank, and was formed at the turn of
the 15th and 16th century when king Kazimierz Jagiellończyk granted
the settlement city rights.
In the 16th
century Suraż was the property and favourite place of Queen Bona.
The only trace of that time is a well-kept medieval burg city with
reminders of a castle called the Hill of Queen Bona. In its vicinity
there is a church of Corpus Christi dating back to 1878 with a
baroque interior fitting and a marvellous figure of Nazareth Christ,
which is worth noticing. Unfortunately, the synagogue and the
Orthodox church originally located on the right bank of the Narew
River did not last till our times. The only traces left are the
cemeteries, which are proofs of the ethnical variety of people who
once used to live on that area. During a visit to Suraż one should
also get acquainted with the extensive geological, architectural and
historic exhibits gathered in a private museum of Wiktor Litwińczuk.
The museum pieces come mostly from the broad valley of the Narew
River and the surrounding of Suraż. They are extremely varied: stone
spearheads and arrows, stone and wooden tools of everyday use,
remains of fossil animals and ethnographical exhibits. The interests
they arouse among archaeologists, historians and journalists confirm
only their value.
