Attraction in Białowieża

Governor's Manor (Dworek Gubernatora)

A light mint wooden manor from 1845, considered the oldest preserved building in Białowieża, now home to the Nature Education Centre of Białowieża National Park.

Reviewed and updated July 2026

The Governor's Manor (Dworek Gubernatora) is a wooden manor house from 1845 in Białowieża's Palace Park, considered the oldest preserved building in the village and now the home of the Nature Education Centre of Białowieża National Park. People visit for its distinctive light mint exterior and for the direct thread it offers back to the pre-tsarist hunting estate, since it stands on the site of an earlier hunting manor of King Augustus III.

The mint-green wooden manor

The building is a single wooden manor painted in a pale mint colour that sets it apart from the brick and stone structures around the park. It was raised in 1845 for the Governor of Grodno, which is the origin of its Polish name, Dworek Gubernatora. Standing among the trees of the Palace Park, it reads as a modest residence rather than a grand palace, and its survival is the reason it draws attention today.

Białowieża's oldest surviving building

What gives the manor its significance is age and continuity. It occupies the spot where a hunting manor of King Augustus III once stood, linking the site to the royal hunting tradition of the forest long before the tsarist era. After its time as a governor's residence it passed into forestry administration, and it is valued now as the oldest structure still standing in the village, a physical connection to Białowieża's layered past.

Nature Education Centre inside

Today the manor houses the Nature Education Centre of Białowieża National Park, so a visit combines the historic building with material on the forest itself. This makes it a natural stop for families and anyone wanting context on the national park before or after time in the woods. For opening times and any admission details, check the national park's official channels, as these can change by season.

Fitting it into a Białowieża visit

The manor sits within the Palace Park, close to other sights in the same green space, so it slots easily into a walk through the village. Pairing it with the park grounds and the wider forest gives a fuller sense of how the settlement grew around royal and later administrative use of the woodland. See our Białowieża guide for how to combine it with the national park and other stops.

Good to know

Because the manor now serves as the national park's Nature Education Centre, confirm current opening times and any entry rules on the park's official channels before you go.

Frequently asked questions

It is considered the oldest preserved building in Białowieża, built in 1845 as a wooden manor for the Governor of Grodno, and it stands where an earlier hunting manor of King Augustus III once stood.

It houses the Nature Education Centre of Białowieża National Park, having earlier served as a governor's residence and then forestry administration.

It is in the Palace Park in Białowieża, set among the trees close to other sights in the same park.

More attractions in Białowieża

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Palace Park (Park Pałacowy)

Landscaped grounds around the site of the tsars' burned hunting palace, now the setting for the national park museum.

Orthodox Church of St Nicholas

A tsarist-era Orthodox church holding a rare glazed-ceramic iconostasis, unusual in Poland.

Strict Nature Reserve, Białowieża (Guided Primeval Forest Walk)

The strictly protected core of the Białowieża primeval forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site entered only on foot with a licensed park guide. Visitors walk through old-growth woodland that has never been cleared.

Place of Power (Miejsce Mocy)

A forest clearing with an arrangement of stones a few kilometres from Białowieża, tied by local tradition to old pagan worship and visited for its quiet, folklore-tinged atmosphere.

Execution Site Memorial (Miejsce Straceń)

A memorial at a former gravel pit near Białowieża marking the wartime execution of around 500 local people by Nazi German forces. It is one of the village's most important places of remembrance.

Royal Oaks Trail (Szlak Dębów Królewskich)

A short boardwalk loop in the Stara Białowieża tract that winds past monumental oaks, each named after a Polish king or Lithuanian duke who once hunted in the forest.