Eastern Polish City of Bialystok To Build New "Green" Opera House And European Music And Art Center Near Border With Belarus

Białystok's opera house will be the first such facility to be constructed in the east of Poland [and near the border with Belarus].

"The Podlaskie voivodship [regional] Marshal's Office has called for tenders to build the Podlaska Opera in Białystok, the first one east of the Vistula River. The investor plans to launch the construction works in July this year and complete the first stage of the development within 16 months. The value of the investment, excluding the multi-screen cinema, which is a private project, is not yet set but has been estimated at some zł.70-100 million [around $23 to $32 million USD].

The jury established by the authorities of Podlaskie voivodship has chosen a design by Marek Budzyński, who is a member of the National Council of Architects. Most of the jurors emphasized that the design corresponds well with nature and is functional. At the front there will be a Greek colonnade and at the top, a monument of Czesław Niemen, a well-known Polish singer. When designing the facility, Budzyński wanted to link the surrounding nature with culture, and thus the new building will have a green facade and a garden on the roof. "This solution will be interesting because the plants will change along with the seasons," says Budzyński.

According to the Marshal's Office, the regional authorities including the city hall and the state budget have contributed to paying the costs of the project and have already gathered the finances to erect the building."

Andrzej Wróbel "Opera for the east" Lokale Immobilia May 15, 2006 via Warsaw Business Journal Online [With thanks.]

http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=32062&type=lim
















Białystok, Poland's Opery Podlaskiej – Europejskiego Centrum Muzyki i Sztuki [Podlaska Opera and European Center for Music and Art] is expected to open in early 2008.









Polish and European Architect Marek Budzyński has also recently designed a new building for the Warsaw University Libraries, shown above.

Photo credits: Wrota Podlasia and Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie [BUW]. With thanks.

http://www.wrotapodlasia.pl/pl/region/opera_podlaska/
konkurs+na+opere+rozstrzygniety.htm

http://www.buw.uw.edu.pl/

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Within two years, Belarus, Europe, should have a new President, and cultural/ecological tourists are encouraged, when visiting the new opera house, also to visit the Białowieźa National Park (Białowieźa Park Narodowy) and the Augustow Canal, a 19th c. Russian Imperial project which connects Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania with the Baltic Sea [and is comparable in preservation merit to the historic Cheasapeake and Ohio Canal in the middle-Atlantic United States].

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Białowieźa National Park (Białowieźa Park Narodowy)

Białowieźa National Park (Białowieźa Park Narodowy) is the only Polish national park included on both the Unesco's World Heritage and World Biosphere Preserve lists. It's also the oldest national park in Poland and the largest original lowland forest in Europe. It is the home to Europe's last surviving herd of bison. Visitors can stroll the park on foot, or hire a bicycle or horse-drawn cart. Eco-guides are obligatory for ecologically sensitive areas of the Park and Biosphere Preserve.

http://www.staff.amu.edu.pl/~zbzw/ph/pnp/bial.htm

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First [Belarusian] booklet about Augustowski Channel published in Grodno, Belarus

"The first booklet about the Augustowski Channel was published in Grodno, BelTA was informed by head of tourism department of the Grodno oblast [region] executive committee Mikhail Kazhuro.

According to him, the booklet contains information about the channel since its foundation in the 19th century. Linking the Polish Wisla with the Belarusian Neman the Augustowski Channel significantly facilitated trade from Russian ports in the Baltic Sea. The edition also says about the channel’s reconstruction, its present state and tourist itineraries. The basin of the channel nests more than 50 sport, ecological, historical and cultural facilities.

The text was written by doctor of historical sciences Svetlana Kul-Selverstova, photos by Alexander Losminskiy and Anatoliy Korol.

The booklet is published in four languages – Russian, Polish, Lithuanian and English. As many as 4,000 copies were printed, Mikhail Kazhuro informed."

Belarusian [State] Telegraph Agency "First booklet about Augustowski Channel published in Grodno [Belarus]" May 17, 2006

http://www.belta.by/en/news/society?id=93700