Sebezhsky National Park (Russian: Себежский национальный парк) is a national park in the northwest of Russia. It is located in the Sebezhsky District of Pskov Oblast. The park was created on January 8, 1996. Its purpose is to protect the natural landscapes of the lake area in the southwest of Pskov Oblast. The park covers an area of 500.21 square kilometers (193.13 square miles).

Geography

The southwestern part of Sebezhsky District, where the national park is located, has a hilly landscape formed by glaciers and contains many lakes. The area is covered with forests, including pine, spruce, mixed, and alder trees. The park is in the southwestern corner of the district and is next to Latvia and Belarus. The center of the town of Sebezh is directly north of the park, and the southern part of the town is inside the park. Most of the park is part of the Velikaya River basin, while some areas in the south are part of the Daugava River basin. The largest lakes in the park are Lake Necheritsa, Lake Sebezhskoye, and Lake Orono.

History

The area has been home to people since ancient times. During the medieval period, it was controlled by the city of Pskov. Early settlers lived near lakes, and later, they also settled in the areas between the lakes. Starting in the 15th century, the region was fought over by the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1772, during the First Partition of Poland, the area became part of Russia. By the 15th century, the land was widely used for farming. By the end of the 17th century, farming faced problems partly because of the Livonian War and partly due to outdated farming methods. Farming slowly improved during the 17th century. In the 19th century, cutting down trees for timber reduced forest areas, and fishing in the lakes was common. In the 1950s, people drained swamps and turned them into farmland. At the start of the 1990s, farming again faced serious problems, leading to the decision to create a national park to protect the region’s cultural and natural landscapes.

Fauna

The park is home to 291 species of animals with backbones, such as two types of lamprey, thirty kinds of fish, eight types of amphibians, five types of reptiles, 202 kinds of birds, and 49 types of mammals. Large mammals found in the park include brown bear, lynx, gray wolf, wild boar, moose, and roe deer.

Tourism and infrastructure

In the park, there are several small buildings. Hunting and fishing for recreation are allowed.

The area of the park near the border with Latvia is part of a special zone created to help keep the borders of the Russian Federation safe from unauthorized actions. To visit this zone, a permit from the local Federal Security Service office is needed.