Desert wind
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
32 square kilometers of airborne sand between Krakow and Katowice, with dunes formed by the wind even a century ago when this area was larger, with occasional mirages: Błędów Desert, the only desert in northern Europe. Its history is inseparably connected with old times as it was created in the result of intense clearing of trees (needed as charcoal for the nearby mills) and since the Middle Ages has been a natural element of the landscape. In the 20th century it was mainly used by the army, during the Nazi occupation the German troops of Afrika Korps trained here, and part of it is still used as a training ground. The desert has had its career in the cinema, featuring as Egyptian sands in Faraon, the remarkable 1966 production by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Today it is a unique place for walks and excursions, hiking and horseback tourism, admired for its nearly African landscape. To retain its desert characteristics it became part of the Natura 2000 environmental protection programme.