Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Malé Karpaty) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. The Landscape Area is situated in the Little Carpathians, part of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

, in West Slovakia. The southwesternmost area is

Devínska Kobyla Devínska Kobyla (; hu, Dévényi-tető; german: Thebener Kogel) is the highest peak in the Devín Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range, and the highest point of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located between the ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, and the northeasternmost area is the Čachtice Carpathians at the town of

Nové Mesto nad Váhom Nové Mesto nad Váhom (; german: Neustadt an der Waag, Neustadtl, Waag-Neustadtl, Waagneustadtl, Waag-Neustadt; hu, Vágújhely, Vág-Újhely) is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia. Geography District town located at the northern edge ...

and the village of Čachtice in the

Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region ( sk, Trenčiansky kraj, ; cs, Trenčínský kraj; hu, Trencséni kerület) is one of the eight Regions of Slovakia, Slovak administrative regions. It consists of 9 districts (''Districts of Slovakia, okresy''). The region ...

. Both areas are separated from the main mountain strip. The area protects of the mountains.

History

The Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area was established on 5 May 1976. The law that created the Landscape Area was amended on 30 March 2001. Before the Little Carpathians PLA was declared in 1976, there were 6 protected areas in the territory: Roštún National Nature Reserve (since 1953), Devínska Kobyla National Nature Reserve (1964), Čachtice Castle Hill National Nature Reserve (1964), Sandberg Nature Reserve (1964), Driny Cave Nature Monument (1968), and Čachtická Cave Nature Monument (1972).

Geography

The Little Carpathians are the borderline mountains of the

Inner Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya ...

. The three highest points are

Záruby Záruby is the highest hill of the Little Carpathians. It is located at an altitude of 768 m, near the village of Smolenice Smolenice ( hu, Szomolány; german: Smolenitz) is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava Region ...

at , Vysoká at and Vápenná at .

Biology and ecology

Deciduous trees In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...

are dominant, with the

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

, linden, European ash, and

sycamore maple ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, to ...

being most widespread. The Little Carpathians PLA is the only place in Slovakia where some plants grow, for example, ''

Ruscus hypoglossum ''Ruscus hypoglossum'' is a small evergreen shrub with a native range from Italy north to Austria and Slovakia and east to Turkey and Crimea. Common names include spineless butcher's-broom, mouse thorn and horse tongue lily. The species name com ...

'' and ''

Rhamnus saxatilis Rhamnus may refer to: * Rhamnus (city), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek city in Attica * Rhamnus (Crete), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek town in Crete * Rhamnus, an augur killed by Nisus and Euryalus in book IX of The Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ...

''.

Insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

include 700 species of

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

and 20

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

. Notable species of

birds 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 lightweigh ...

are represented by the rock thrush,

northern wheatear The northern wheatear or wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It is th ...

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

, European honey buzzard,

short-toed eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

, and

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

. The Landscape Area is home to the largest population of the

saker falcon The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...

in Slovakia.

Protected areas

The protected landscape area includes other protected areas like nature reserves and national nature reserves. These include: * Strmina * Pod Pajštúnom * Jurské jazero

Tourism

The Little Carpathians PLA is the only large protected area in Slovakia with extensive vineyards, which are a part of the Little Carpathians Wine Route. The southwestern part contains the

Bratislava Forest Park Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, which is popular with many visitors from Bratislava and includes localities like

Koliba Koliba is the name of a locality in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is situated on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. It administratively belongs to the Nové Mesto, Bratislava, Nové Mesto borough and is part of the Bratislava Forest Park. T ...

. There are many castles in the area, many of which are in ruins now. The notable examples are Biely Kameň Castle,

Červený Kameň Castle Červený Kameň Castle ( sk, Hrad Červený Kameň, hu, Vöröskő vára, german: Bibersburg, earlier Rotenstein) is a 13th-century castle in southwestern Slovakia in the Little Carpathians near the village of Častá. History A stone castle w ...

and

Smolenice Castle Smolenice Castle ( sk, Smolenický zámok) is a castle in the eastern slope of the Little Carpathians, near the town of Smolenice, Slovakia. History Smolenice Castle was built in the 15th century, but it was destroyed during Rákóczi's War of ...

. The Landscape Area includes an extensive network of

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

and bicycle trails.

Driny Driny is a limestone cave in West Slovakia in the Little Carpathians Mountains. It is located around 2 km southwest of the village of Smolenice. The cave's entrance altitude is 399 m. The first attempt to enter the cave was made by Prus ...

is the only cave open to public.

Gallery

File:Jablonka.jpg, Jablonka Creek between the villages of Višňové and Čachtice File:Ostry Kamen ruins.jpg, Ruins of Ostrý Kameň Castle at 569 m near

File:Derava skala 03.jpg, Cave Deravá skala File:Krslenica 12.jpg, Kršlenica Rocks

References

sopsr.sk

External links

Little Carpathians PLA
a
Slovakia.travel
a
Spectacular SlovakiaLittle Carpathians Wine Route
{{National parks of Slovakia Protected areas of Slovakia Protected areas established in 1976 Protected areas of the Western Carpathians Geography of Bratislava Geography of Trenčín Region