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Places
address Zawoja
www www.bgpn.pl
e-mail park@bgpn.pl
phone 338775110

Babia Góra National Park was set up on the 30th of October 1954. Its main peak is Diablak (Devil's Peak – 1725 m a.s.l.), which is the highest peak in Poland outside the Tatras. It covers the area of 3391,55 ha. 'Okrzyn jeleni' is its symbol, which is an endemic plant together with 'rogownica alpejska' (cerastium alpinum).

A legend from Zawoja says that okrzyn jeleni is a plant which grew where a 'boginka' put her foot. 'Boginki' are folk ghosts who showed themselves to people as beautiful girls with wonderful voice. They bathed in the mountain streams, made wreaths of flowers and danced on meadows. They looked after their favourite flowers – okrzyn. One day Jędrek from Wełcza, who didn't believe in ghosts, started cutting okrzyn jeleni, at that moment one 'bokinka' appeared and changed him ito a deer. After many years a shepherdess saved him when she shielded him from a hunter's shot. Then he changed into a human again.

 

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