Before 1426 a wooden hunting manor for king
Władysław Jagiełło was built in the middle of the Białowieża Forest on the
Lutownia stream. It was most probably one of the first permanent settlements in
the area, although the forest was already penetrated by hunters from the nearby
areas and by the king himself who won't to hunt there. The wooden manor was
painted in white and became the namesake both for the future village and the
forest (Białowieża means White Tower in Polish).
From 1538 the forest was protected by the
laws of king Sigismund I the
