Kopački Rit is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

in eastern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

in the municipalities of Bilje and Kneževi Vinogradi. It is located northwest of the confluence of the

Drava The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

and the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, situated at the border with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

. It comprises many backwaters and ponds along the Danube. It is one of the most important, largest and most attractive preserved intact

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Fauna & Flora

A part of Kopački Rit has been designated as a zoological reserve. Around 260 various bird species breed here including geese and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

great white egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to e ...

, black stork,

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...

, crows, Eurasian coot,

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century ...

s, terns, common kingfisher and

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...

.Many other species use this area as a temporary shelter on migration from the northern, cooler regions to the southern, warmer areas and vice versa. There are around 40 fish species including pike, ide, tench, bream, carp, catfish, pike-perch and perch. Mammals in the area include

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

European wildcat The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its ...

, pine marten, stone marten,

least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus '' Mustela,'' family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has be ...

, sable and the Eurasian otter. Daily passes can be purchased at the visitors center. Kopački Rit also has over 140 recorded species of plant—some of which are very rare and only found in a few places in Croatia. Notable species include white water lily (''

Nymphaea alba ''Nymphaea alba'', the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar , is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia (Jammu and Kashmir). Descript ...

''), the iris (''

Iris variegata ''Iris variegata'', commonly known as the Hungarian iris, is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', also in the subgenus ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial from eastern Europe. It has dark green, ribbed leaves. The branched flowering stems c ...

''); azola, black sedge (''

Carex nigra ''Carex nigra'' is a perennial species of plants in the family Cyperaceae native to wetlands of Europe, western Asia, northwestern Africa, and eastern North America. Common names include common sedge, black sedge or smooth black sedge. The east ...

''), common reed ('' Phragmites australis''); siberian cattail; graceful cattail ('' Typha laxmannii''); and flowering rush (''

Butomus umbellatus ''Butomus umbellatus'' is a Eurasian plant species in the family Butomaceae. It is the only species in the family. Common names include flowering rush or grass rush. Introduced into North America as an ornamental plant it has now become a serious ...

'').

Access

The proximity of the big town of

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

and its surroundings, as well as excellent communications (by road, railway, plane and ship) provide ready access to visitors. The beauty of "intact" nature, the multitude of waters, flora and fauna attract not only excursionists and visitors but also many experts and scientists from the whole of Europe. Guided tourist visits by panoramic ships, boats, horse-drawn wagons or on foot are available. Some packages offer the possibility of photographing or video-recording animals,

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s in particular. Angling and hunting are allowed in certain parts of Kopački Rit that are put under less strict protection such as Vemeljski Dunavac, Danube river, Podunavlje channels, and the area by the Zlatna Greda pump station. The international bicycle routes
Pannonian Peace Route
and
Danube Route
lead through Kopački Rit, which has become the first centre for cycle-tourists in Croatia. Bikes are also available for rent through the visitors center.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopacki Rit Ramsar sites in Croatia Nature parks of Croatia Baranya (region) Protected areas of Osijek-Baranja County Important Bird Areas of Croatia

Fauna & Flora

Access

See also

References

External links