Kletsk Forestry Institution was founded on 22 December 1939.
Despite its relatively small area, the Forestry Institution is unique. It is located at the watershed boundary of the basins of the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, in the subzone of hornbeam-oak spruce forests. The forestry districts of Gorodeika, Nesvizh, Novinki and Golynka belong to Volovyssk and Novogrudok woodland complex, district of Zaostrovechye and Kolki – to the Western Predpolesie complex.
Let’s dwell on the ancient history of the Forestry Institution, in the first place. What sort of heritage was there, what was laid at its root? Although 68 years passed, but tales come and go by word of mouth, from one generation to another, from the forestry workers and just eyewitnesses of the day.
Central to the forestry area were forests of the Radziwill noble family.
Nesvizh forestry area within 46—57 quadrangles encloses a specially protected zone – Alba woodland park of 396 hectares (the overall area of the park is 490.4 hectares). The ancient woodland park as an essential element is part of a unique architectural and natural complex of Nesvizh-Mir zone combining prominent monuments of Belarusian architecture and outstanding masterpieces of garden art on a relatively small spot of land which are of enormous historical and cultural importance for the country. Alba was created in the second half of the 16th century. Its older section was located in the south-east of the current park. In the early 17th century at the time of Prince Mikolaj Radziwill, a hermitage was erected here with a palace called Consolation. The remains of ancient footpaths, rectangular outline of the overgrown pond, type of landscape, location of ancient stumps indicate a regular style of the park, meeting the demands of the day.
In the early 18th century at the time of Karol Radziwill the «Houses and Chambers» sprang up there, called Alba (i.e., white, dawn, song of the morning), navigation and artillery schools were started. A unique water system located in the north dates back to the epoch. It consists of 8 canals diverging at an angle of 450 from the round pond. Later on, this place served as a zoo, with a pheasant run in the centre. The water system, too, became part of the zoo. A hunting range was placed in the centre of the round pond, to which game was driven by drive beaters as the hunt was on.
During many wars in the second half of the 18th century and in the early 19 century Alba woodland park suffered vast losses.
In the late 19th century the works in Alba were resumed. Its northern part accommodated a landscape park, with the composition to comprise spruce groups. Of particular interest was a section of the park comprising a complicated water system of 30 ponds in the floodplain of the river Usha designed for fish farming. The ponds were successively connected and sluiced, the banks lined by footpaths.
The park comprises over 30 varieties of ornamental trees and shrubs. The most common are spruce, pine, oak, birch, ash, maple, black alder, lime. A large area is occupied by old-fir plantations (23.5%). Of those survived are 1188 most valuable specimens older than 300 years, 8 common oaks aged 225 to 500 years
A Forestry area of 40 hectares comprises a pine plantation aged over 90 years. The density is 0.8-0.9, with excellent quality of wood - you will hardly find such crops in White Russia.
In quadrangle 83-84, Gorodeika forestry area allocated lands of 1.5 hectares for alien crops of black, common and mountain pine. This is where there are crops of European and Japanese larch, Weymouth pine, Norway maple, ash-leaved maple, English field maple, red-leaved maple, beech, walnut, elm, Engelmann spruce and others. It is not authorized to cut, damage or demolish trees in the allocated zone, as well as drive a car or cattle through and use it for grazing. The alien plantations are put on the list of most protected natural terrains. Here one of two Radziwill hunting lodges was located. The beauty of noble parks still give you an incredible impression. Some trees lining the footpaths are 150 years and more. Leon Radziwill brought them already mature from Berlin park. The forestry used to work to high standards at his time, with skilled experts employed. And the forestry guards served their cause well. Basically, timber was exported to England. To facilitate deliveries, as old men say, Radziwill built up a 25 km-long narrow-gauge railway.
In quadrangle 84, Gorodeika forestry area has another natural monument of local importance – «Oak and Larch Footpath» including 56 European larches and 30 common oaks. A lasting impression and admiration are those magnificent 30-meter giant trees.
The 1.5 km long oak and larch path was a major drive-in to the ancient park, and to handle drive-in park compositions, traditional species were used for the landscape gardening – common oak and European larch.
The mixed oak and larch plantations aged more than 100 years in Belarus are not common which shows their importance and value.
As the Soviet power came in to stay and Belarus was reunified with its Western part, the forests were not attended to for a while. Radziwill was arrested at that point and said to buy himself out of trouble. People were educated in their austerity and the forests were kept intact. There’s pretty much the same attitude now towards forest wealth.
There’s not much information about the pre-war Nesvizh forestry (which is how it was called, with the central mansion in Nesvizh, its move and renaming occurring in the 1960s). There’s a manuscript of forestry orders dating back to 1939-1941 before the Great Patriotic War was unleashed. Order No. 1 is signed by the head of the Council of the BSSR People’s Commissars for forestry, Baranovichi Region, Sergei Moroz. The forestry zone included four forestry areas – Vinklerovsky, Nesvizh, Novinki and Khominki.
Remarkably, the Forestry was working during the Great Patriotic War. A German, a Buchbinder, was in charge of the forestry affairs. As the eyewitnesses say, no forest regeneration was carried out. But the cuttings were massive, with the timber exported to Germany.There’s no evidence of the first director of the forestry Ioseph I. Bartosh.
There’s his last order remaining of 22 June 1941 that he is due to leave for mobilization to the district centre.
During the Great Patriotic War, the forests were secured by partisan details Lazo, Chapaev, Avant-garde, Detail No. 620 Sokoly and others. The partisans struck the enemy’s essential communications, mainly, telegraph and telephone, warehouses and roads.Thus, a fight in the forest of Mashukov led by legendary Kirill P. Orlovsky defeated a large group of SS troops including the head commissar of Baranovichi Gruppenführer Friedrich Fenz, Gebits commissar of Baranovichi Region Friedrich Stur, Second Head of Police, other high-ranking fascist officials.
Once liberated, the Forestry resumed its activity and contributed enormously to the restoration of economy in Nesvizh and Kletsk districts, organization of collective farms, industrial enterprises, construction of housing space, many economic facilities. Regeneration was under way, with increasing labour productivity. Technical retooling, rational use of material, financial and labour resources, improved job organization and management led to the growing development of collective teamwork.
From 1956, the Forestry Institution began processing timber. The workshop was built up as close as possible to the source of raw materials in Khominki Forestry Area. From 1960 Khominki became a single industrial entity. At one point there was a facility manufacturing parquetry, sets of cottage homes and many other consumer goods.
In 1961, Khominki forestry area was divided into Kolki and Zaostrovechye. In 1979, Novinki forestry area broke up with Golynka, in 1987 Vinkleprovskoe Forestry renamed into Gorodeika.
Hence, nowadays, Kletsk Forestry Institution includes six forestry districts of Golynka, Gorodeika, Zaostrovechye, Kolki, Nesvizh, Novinki and Khominki.
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