The mystery and fantastical shape of the trees of Poland’s Gryfino Forest, dubbed the “Crooked Forest” for what appears to be trees straight out of a fairy tale, has made it one of the many renowned tourist attractions in Poland.
It became famous due to the unique look of its bow-shaped pines. Despite many attempts to understand and explain the creation of the forest, researchers still can only fall back on hypotheses and theories.
The most popular and most likely theory is that the specific crook of the trees is due to people having trimmed the trees when they were young.
Journalists from The New York Times and Daily Mail have been delighted by the Crooked Forest, which is drawing thousands of tourists as “forest tourism” expands.
Lidia Kmiecińska, a senior specialist from Gryfino’s Forestry Service, told the Polish Press Agency that the reason for the trimming could have been to use the crooked wood to create bows, fantastically shaped furniture or even wooden sleighs.
Kmiecińska pointed out that all the crooked trees in the forest are bent in the same direction.
The specialist also mentioned that tourists enjoy coming up with their own theories as to the unique shape of the trees when they visit.
“Many even claim that this is the effect of supernatural or cosmic powers. This all leads to the Crooked Forest being inspirational and sort of a game to figure out the most accurate hypotheses,” she said.
The increase in interest in the Crooked Forest and other forests is due to the rising trend of “forest tourism”, which is encouraged by not only nature enthusiasts but also by doctors who believe that contact with nature is the best cure for stress and tiredness.
