Milicz Ponds

The Barycz valley north of Wroclaw is flat, wet and slow-draining, and monastic and later landowners exploited that from the thirteenth century by damming and excavating it into fish ponds for carp - the system grew to something like a hundred and twenty ponds covering around seven thousand hectares, which makes it one of the largest complexes of its kind in Europe and it has been in continuous production for seven hundred years. Carp is still farmed and harvested in autumn by draining ponds in rotation. The ecological consequence is enormous: shallow warm water with reed margins across that area supports around 280 recorded bird species, and it is a Ramsar site and one of the most important breeding and passage areas in Poland - bittern, ferruginous duck, black-necked grebe, white-tailed eagle, cranes in numbers on passage. Observation towers, marked trails and cycle routes run through it and the autumn harvest is a local event.

What you actually see

• Seven hundred years of ponds - a system dug from the thirteenth century and still worked.
• Seven thousand hectares - around a hundred and twenty ponds, among Europe's largest complexes.
• About 280 bird species - a Ramsar site with bittern, eagles and cranes on passage.
• The autumn harvest - ponds drained in rotation and the carp taken.

When to go

April to May and September to October for birds; autumn for the harvest. A day.

Honest expectations

It is flat and the ponds are behind reed - a telescope helps and towers are essential. Mosquitoes are severe from May. Some ponds are working farm areas and access is restricted. Distances between towers are long; a bicycle helps.

Nearby

Milicz is the district town; Wroclaw is south.