The Gubińskie Mokradła nature reserve, the former airport and training ground in Gubin

Tourist attractions

Description

The area of the former German airport, and after 1945 until the end of the 1980s, the training ground of the Polish Army is a complex of protected wetlands located in a slight depression, in the valley of the Budoradzanka watercourse. On the north-eastern side of the former airport, there is the Gubińskie Mokradła Nature Reserve, established in 2011, with an area of about 10 hectares, protecting the populations of 116 species of water and marsh birds, of which over 100 have their habitats there. Almost 50 of them are endangered or rare species; 20 are species protected in the European Union, listed in Annex 1 to the EU Birds Directive.

Birds can be observed with binoculars at one of the nine entrances to the reserve. For environmental reasons, entry to its area is prohibited. The most interesting species are: ruff, bittern, white-tailed eagle, marsh harrier, white and black stork, buzzard, white heron, corncrake, spotted eagle, green forage, black woodpecker, red-backed gorse, rowan, black kite, red kite, clapper, whooper swan, tern black, duckling, whooper swan, pintail, cricket, meadow pipit, kingfisher and crane.

More information about the reserve itself can be found at: http://mokradła.pl/.

Historical background

The genesis of the airport in Guben dates back to the beginning of the 20^th century, when the popularization of aviation and the fascination with it reached more and more people. Aviation shows have been held in Guben since 1912, inspiring many residents to discover this rapidly developing technological branch on their own. In this way, in the years 1927-1929, an airport was built, serving not only communication functions, with regular flights to Dresden, Nuremberg and Szczecin, but also postal (Cottbus / Frankfurt (Oder) postal route) and recreational and sports airport. In 1935, due to the introduction of a general duty to defend and strategic proximity to the then Polish border (about 100 km), the airport was restructured, changing its function to almost fully military and extending it with a pilot school and leading to it by public transport.

After losing the war, German soldiers fled the city and the barracks, giving way to the Polish Army. An exercise yard was established at the airport, where the soldiers of the Gubin garrison from 1945 to the end of the 1980s were trained in tactical operations and techniques.

In 2002, the exercise site, along with the area of the present (not existing at that time) reserve, was taken over by the Military Property Agency, which in 2005 sold it to the current owner from Greater Poland.

In 2011, the "Gubińskie Mokradła" Nature Reserve was established in the north-eastern area of the airport.