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Crooked Forest

Just outside Gryfino, near the Dolna Odra power plant, grows Pomerania's strangest grove: dozens of pines whose trunks, barely a dozen or so centimetres above the ground, bend at almost a right angle before climbing straight towards the sky. The forest was planted in the 1930s, most likely around 1934; today it counts just over fifty deformed trees 11–12 metres tall, and the whole patch covers a mere 0.33 ha. Since December 2006 it has been a protected natural monument.

Where do the bends come from? Nobody knows to this day. The most popular theory speaks of deliberate cultivation of so-called krzywiec — naturally bent wood prized in carpentry for furniture, sledges or boat parts. Another hypothesis holds that the young trees were cut for Christmas trees and a regrowing lower branch took over the role of the trunk, growing vertically while keeping the characteristic hook. This unsolved riddle has turned a tiny grove into one of the world's best-known forest oddities.

The site is being cared for: in 2020 the Gryfino commune, the forest district and the PGE foundation began revitalising the forest and opening it to visitors, and in 2021 a replacement stand of a thousand young pines was created to form a future crooked forest. A walk along the path takes 30–60 minutes; the site is open around the clock and free of charge. Access leads from the car park in Nowe Czarnowo, and the red trail from Szczecin to Mieszkowice passes through the area, so the visit combines easily with a trip to Gryfino or Szczecin. Remember not to step between the trees: this is a protected natural monument.

Crooked Forest

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Opening hours · checked 01/09/2026

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Crooked Forest

About this place

Practical information

Opening hours · checked 01/09/2026

What to see

Place map

Places to stay nearby

Sources and further reading

Nearby attractions