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{{Infobox settlement
| name = Pinsk Marshes<br>Pripet Marshes
| native_name = Пінскія балоты / Прыпяцкія балоты
| native_name_lang = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type = Natural region
| image_skyline = Prypiat.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = View of the marshy areas bounding the [[Pripyat River]]
| image_flag =
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| image_map = Pinsk Marshes-.JPG
| map_alt =
| map_caption = The Pinsk Marshes ''(Marais de Pinsk)'' in an 1888 French map by [[:fr:Pierre Foncin|Pierre Foncin]].
| pushpin_map = Belarus#Ukraine
| pushpin_label_position = top
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = The Pinsk Marshes bring together Belarus and Ukraine.
| pushpin_relief = y
| coordinates = {{coord|52|N|27|E|type:landmark_dim:500000|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type = Countries
| subdivision_name = [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]]
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| area_metro_footnotes = <!--<ref></ref> -->
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| elevation_m = 135
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}}
__NOTOC__
[[File:Polonia Et Ungaria XX Nova Tabula.jpg|thumb|A 1552 map by [[Sebastian Münster]] showing the Pinsk Marshes (''Sarmatica palus'') next to [[Pinsk]]]]
The '''Pripet Marshes''' ({{langx|be|Прыпяцкія балоты|Prypiackija baloty}}), also known as '''Pinsk Marshes''' ({{langx|be|Пінскія балоты|Pinskiya baloty}}), the '''Polesie Marshes''', and the '''Rokitno Marshes''', are a vast [[natural region]] of [[wetlands]] in [[Polesia]], along the forested basin of the [[Pripyat River]] and its tributaries from [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]] to the west, [[Mogilev]] in the northeast, and [[Kyiv]] to the southeast. Most of the region is in [[Belarus]], and part is in [[Ukraine]]. The Pripet Marshes are the largest wetland area in Europe.
==Overview==
The Pripet Marshes mostly lie within the [[Polesian Lowland]], hence '''Polesie Marshes''' (Woodland Marshes), and occupy most of the southern part of [[Belarus]] and the north-west of [[Ukraine]]. They cover roughly {{convert|104000|sqmi|km2|-2|order=flip}} surrounding the sandy lowlands of the dense network of rivers and rivulets forming on both sides of the Pripyat River, one of the main tributaries of the [[Dnieper]].<ref name="eb">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Pripet-Marshes Pripet Marshes] [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]</ref> Dense woods are interspersed with numerous [[marshes]], [[Moorland|moors]], ponds and streams extending {{convert|300|mi|km|-1|order=flip}} west to east and {{convert|140|mi|km|0|order=flip}} north to south. The marshes undergo substantial changes in size during the year, with melting snows in springtime and autumn rainfall causing extensive [[flood]]ing as the river overflows.
== Flora ==
The Pripet Marshes are home to 827 species of [[vascular plant]]s, of which 18 are listed as endangered in the {{ill|Red Book of Belarus|be|Чырвоная кніга Рэспублікі Беларусь}}.
The Pripet Marshes typically alternate open sedge-reed spaces with almost impenetrable shrub [[thicket]]s. During the spring flood the swamps are almost completely covered with water, so the local population often has to cross through them in boats.<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.astronet.ru/db/msg/1192178/p1ch5b.html Main laws of the geographical distribution of marshes]</ref> On dry "islands" there are areas of [[deciduous]] or [[Pine trees|pine forest]]s.
== Fauna ==
[[File:TriturusCristatus.jpg|thumb|The [[Northern crested newt]], a [[salamander]] of the marsh of Pripiat]]
The Pripet Marshes are home to thousands of birds from different [[biotope]]s of the Earth (Europe, Asia, Africa, Mediterranean), some of which come to nest here during migrations, and also swamps are a wintering area for many species of migratory birds nesting in parts of Northern Europe, such as [[Scandinavia]], [[Finland]], the [[Baltic states]] and Russia.
Of the 246 species of birds which has been observed on this territory, 66 species are listed in the [[:be:Чырвоная кніга Рэспублікі Беларусь|Red Book of Belarus]]. The park nestles a significant number of species that are globally threatened with extinction: [[Ferruginous duck]] (''Aythya nyroca''), [[White-tailed eagle]] (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') (just 2–3 pairs have been observed), [[Greater spotted eagle]] (''Aquila clanga'') (4–6 pairs), [[Corn crake]] (''Crex crex''), [[Great snipe]] (''Gallinago media''). The presence of so many birds of national and international significance underscores the importance of this territory for the conservation of biodiversity of [[Polesia|Polesie]], Belarus and Europe as a whole.
==History==
[[File:Marsh. Polissia.jpg|thumb|The marshes in [[1890]] in a painting by [[Ivan Shishkin]]]]
Historically, for most of the year, the marshes were virtually impassable to major military forces, which influenced strategic planning of all military operations in the region. Like most other wetlands in Europe, the Pripet Marshes were once seen as an unhealthy area and a focus of sickness. [[Land reclamation]] projects of the eastern part of the wetlands were started in [[1872]] and by the late 19th century drainage of the marshes destroyed 1.5 million hectares of wetlands for use as pasture and farmland.<ref>''Wetlands Under Threat.'' [[World Wide Fund For Nature]] Living Waters Campaign. [http://assets.panda.org/downloads/WETTHREATSENG.doc Issues Brief 1], p. 1</ref>
=== First and Second World War ===
{{see also|Pripyat Marshes massacres}}
At the start of [[World War I]], the marshes separated the [[4th Army (Austria-Hungary)|Austro-Hungarian Fourth Army]] from the XII corps; the few roads that traversed the region were narrow and largely unimproved. That left a wide gap, and the [[3rd Army Corps (Russian Empire)|Third Army Corps]] of the [[Imperial Russian Army]] poured in before the [[2nd Army (Austria-Hungary)|Austro-Hungarian Second Army]]'s transfer from [[Serbia]] was complete. The Russians soon captured the valuable railhead at Lemberg (now [[Lviv]]), then in the far east of [[Austria-Hungary]] (now part of the western [[Ukraine]]), as a result. Throughout the rest of the war, the wetlands remained one of the principal geographic obstacles of the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]].
The marshes divided the central and southern theatres of operation during [[World War II]], and they served as a hideout for both [[Soviet partisans|Soviet]] and [[Home Army|Polish partisans]]. At one stage during the war, the [[Nazi Germany|German]] administration planned to drain the marshes, '[[Ethnic cleansing|cleanse]]' them of their 'degenerate' inhabitants and [[Generalplan Ost|repopulate]] the area with German colonists. [[Konrad Meyer]] was the leader in command of the 'Pripet Plan'. [[Hitler]] scuttled the project late in 1941, as he believed that it might cause [[Dust Bowl]] conditions.<ref>[[David Blackbourn|Blackbourn, David]], (2006). ''The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape and the Making of Modern Germany''. Jonathan Cape.</ref>
In 1942, after an uprising, approximately 1,000 Jews escaped from the [[Łachwa Ghetto]], of whom about 600 were able to take refuge in the Pripet Marshes.
Known as ''Pripjet-Sümpfe'' by the Germans, the wetlands were dreaded by the [[Wehrmacht]] troops. During the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]], the [[Third Reich]] armies skirted the wetlands, passing through the north or south of it. However, after the debacle of the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] in 1944, many retreating units such as the [[7th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|7th]], [[35th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|35th]], [[134th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|134th]] and [[292nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|292nd Infantry Division]]s had to cut across the marshy areas. They often needed to build tracks with logs, over which they could pull light loads in horse-drawn vehicles.<ref>[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks11/1100731h/V1_5/v3.html Pictorial History Of The Second World War; Volume III – Fighting on the Pripet Marshes]</ref>
=== Proposed drainage in the 1950s ===
There was a plan to drain the wetlands during 1952, when the area of the marshes was under [[Soviet]] administration.<ref>Karakov, G. (George), ''1952 plan for the draining of the Pripet Marshes.'' New York, N.Y. : Research Program on the U.S.S.R., 1953 (OCoLC)623960881.</ref>
=== Chernobyl nuclear disaster ===
In 1986, the region became world-famous because of the [[Chernobyl disaster]]; however, the Pripet Marshes should not be confused with the [[ghost town|ghost city]] of [[Pripyat]]; the area within which the [[Chernobyl Exclusion Zone]] is located. It is approximately {{convert|356|km|mi|abbr=on}} east-southeast of the geographic centre of the Pripet Marshes area.
== See also ==
*[[Pripyatsky National Park]]
*[[Geography of Belarus]]
*[[Geography of Ukraine]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/science-team-plunges-into-pripyat-marshes-930.html Science team plunges into Pripyat Marshes – Kyiv Post]
{{Wetlands of Ukraine}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Marshes of Belarus]]
[[Category:Marshes of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Pinsk|Marshes]]
[[Category:Natural regions of Europe]]
[[Category:Belarus–Ukraine border]]
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