Concrete heritage of Bukowa Kniea - as part of European and West Pomeranian Heritage Days

The Complex of Landscape Parks of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship invites you to learn the mysteries of the Beech Forest.

The program includes:
- lecture by Dr. Eng. arch. Aleksandra Hamberg-Federowicz - Historical concrete and its influence on the cultural landscape of Western Pomerania
- lecture by ZPKWZ - Cultural heritage of Western Pomerania's landscape parks
- a walk in the Forest Park Zdroje - the area around Lake Emerald, Kopalniana Street and Grabowa Street together with a visit to the underground route of the Forest Education Center "Emerald".

Szczecin Landscape Park "Bukowa Forest" is the park located closest to the city of Szczecin. It covers a vast forest complex overgrowing the Beech Hills and Kolowska, Binowska and Dobropolska Glades. The park is characterized by great scenic and natural values. The most famous is the Emerald Lake, which owes its unique color to the chalk mined here in the past.
The park also contains numerous elements of Szczecin's cultural heritage. These include the remains of the former cement factory "Stern" and the property of its owners, the best preserved of which is an artificial grotto, built as a form of advertising for the cement produced. It was built of concrete before 1880 in imitation of natural caves found in limestone rocks. It had stalactites and stalagmites and had numerous reconstructed flowstone formations on the walls. It was devastated after the end of the war. In front of the entrance stands an arch with a span of about 30 m, built in 1880. In front of it (further from the grotto) stood a second similar arch, built in 1889 and dismantled during the reconstruction of the grotto.

On the hill near Emerald Lake are the buildings of the former military buildings. They were built in the pre-war period or during World War II. They consist of above-ground buildings and an underground, the length of which is about 700 meters. Bats overwinter in the underground. Currently, the Szczecin-based "Beyond the Horizon" Association runs the Emerald Zdroje Tourist Information Center here. The association holds educational classes at the center and organizes numerous events related to the natural, cultural and historical values of the Beech Forest and the facility.