Brodnica Landscape Park (BPK) was established in 1985 as the 25th landscape park in Poland. The park’s head office is located in Grzmięca.
The area of BPK is 16,685 ha (12,349 ha in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and 4336 ha in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship). Over 60% of the park area is covered by forests, with water covering 8.5%.
The Park is situated within the following six municipalities: Brodnica, Brzozie, Jabłonowo Pomorskie, Zbiczno, Biskupiec and Kurzętnik (the last two are part of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship). Brodnica Landscape Park covers the central part of the Brodnica Lake District.
There are about 45 lakes in the Park, arranged in characteristic parallel sequences. Six lakes cover an area of more than 100 hectares: Wielkie Partęczyny — 324 ha, Sosno — 198 ha, Łąkorek — 162 ha, Głowińskie — 131 ha, Zbiczno — 128 ha and Ciche — 110 ha. Some lakes reach considerable depths: Zbiczno — 41.6 m, Łąkorz — 30.9 m, Wielkie Partęczyny — 28.5 m, Bachotek — 24.3 m. The hydrographic axis of the Park is Skarlanka — one of the more attractive canoe routes in the Voivodeship. BPK waters are among the cleanest in the region.
The landform is shaped by parallel deep subglacial troughs (reaching about 40 m depth), cutting the surface of the Brodnica outwash plain (troughs: Struga Brodnicka and Skarlanka). There are also forms of glacial accumulation: terminal moraines (Wichulec, Zbiczno) and kames and eskers (near Pokrzydowo). In addition to the subglacial troughs, the area of the morainic plateau and outwash plain is diversified by extrusive depressions of various sizes.
The most valuable areas of BPK are protected by eight nature reserves. These are three forest reserves: “Mieliwo”, “Retno” and “Las Cielęta”, three peat bog reserves: “Stręszek”, “Okonek” and “Żurawie Bagno’, and two floristic reserves: “Wyspa na jeziorze Wielkie Partęczyny” and “Bachotek”.
Also located within the Park boundaries is the Bagienna Dolina Drwęcy (Swampy Drwęca Valley) covering an area of 3,366.06 ha. It covers a section of the middle Drwęca valley. This site is a bird sanctuary of European importance for migrating waterfowl and wetland birds, and is also a feeding ground for birds of prey nesting in the surrounding forests. At least 16 bird species from Annex I of Council Directive 79/409/EEC and five species from the Polish Red Book of Animals were found in the Bagienna Dolina Drwęcy (Swampy Drwęca Valley).
