Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area () is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. The Landscape Area is situated in the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', ; ; ) are a low mountain range, about 100 km long, and part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slovakia, covering the area from Bratislava to Nové Mesto n ...

, part of the

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

, in West Slovakia. The southwesternmost area is Devínska Kobyla in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, and the northeasternmost area is the Čachtice Carpathians at the town of Nové Mesto nad Váhom and the village of

Čachtice Čachtice (, ) is a village in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in western Slovakia with a population of 4,010 (as of 2014). The village is situated between the Danubian Lowland and the Little Carpathians. It is best known for the ruins of the nea ...

in the

Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of nine districts ('' okresy''). The region was established in 1996: previously it had been a part of the West Slovak Region () and partly the Central S ...

. 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 S ...

. The three highest points are Záruby at , Vysoká at and Vápenná at .

Biology and ecology

Deciduous trees are dominant, with the

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

, linden,

European ash ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of Fraxinus, ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus ...

, and sycamore maple being most widespread. The Little Carpathians PLA is the only place in Slovakia where some plants grow, for example, '' Ruscus hypoglossum'' and '' Rhamnus saxatilis''.

Insects Insects (from Latin ') are 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 jointed ...

include 700 species of

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and 20

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

. Notable species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

are represented by the rock thrush, northern wheatear, black stork,

European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Taxonomy The European honey buzzard was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in ...

, short-toed eagle,

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total le ...

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 Landscape Area is home to the largest population of the saker falcon 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 (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, which is popular with many visitors from Bratislava and includes localities like Koliba. 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 (, , ) is a 13th-century castle in southwestern Slovakia in the Little Carpathians near the village of Častá. History A stone castle was built by Tiburtius Rosd or his descendants in the 13th century as part of the chai ...

and Smolenice Castle. The Landscape Area includes an extensive network of hiking trails and bicycle trails. Driny is the only cave open to public.

Gallery

File:Jablonka.jpg, Jablonka Creek between the villages of Višňové and

File:Ostry Kamen ruins.jpg, Ruins of

Ostrý Kameň Castle Ostrý Kameň Castle (; ) is a ruined castle in the municipality of Buková in the Trnava region of Slovakia. History The castle was first mentioned in 1273. Although the origins of the Ostrý Kameň castle are not clear, it is believed that it ...

at 569 m near Záruby 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
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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