Risnjak is a mountain in the Risnjak National Park, in Gorski Kotar,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. It belongs to the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern Europe, Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia ...

mountain range.Naklada Naprijed, ''The Croatian Adriatic Tourist Guide'', pg. 84, Zagreb (1999), The name of the massif probably comes from ''ris'', the Croatian word for

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

. Another interpretation suggests that it comes from the local word ''risje'', which is a name for a type of grass. The vegetation is very diverse. Thirty different plant communities have been recorded, of which the most common are beech and fir forests ('' Fagetum illyricum abietotosum'') which go up to 1240 m and then are replaced by sub-alpine beeches (''Fagetum croaticum subalpinum''). The highest vegetation is a belt of mountain pine (''Pinetum mughi croaticum''). The fauna is also diverse, but has been less well researched. There are particularly many species of birds and mammals, including several types of chamois, while since 1974 the area has once again been inhabited by the ''ris'' (lynx). The highest peak of Risnjak mountain is "Risnjak" or ''Veliki Risnjak'' at 1528 m.a.s.l. (the latter name means "Big Risnjak"), and it is also the highest peak in the Risnjak National Park, and the second in Gorski kotar next to Bjelolasica. On its southern slope is located the mountain lodge called ''Šloserov dom'', built by

Josip Schlosser Josip Klasancije Schlosser pl. Klekovski (1801–1882) was a Croatian physician and botanist. Together with Ljudevit Farkaš Vukotinović, he was an author of ''Flora croatica'' (1869), the main work for the knowledge of plants in Croatia. He was ...

. The peak can be reached only on foot, from Crni Lug (3 h) or from an unpaved road beginning in Gornje Jelenje (1 h). The highest peaks of Risnjak mountain are: Veliki Risnjak (1528 m), Sjeverni Mali Risnjak (1434 m) and Južni Mali Risnjak (1448 m).

History

On 9 July 1899, a new trail to Mali Risnjak by alpinist Moravec was completed.

Mountain huts

In the 1935–1936 season, the ''Šloserov dom'' mountain hut at in elevation, open year round, saw 738 visitors, including 2 Italian, 2 German and 1 Romanian citizen. It was renovated from August to October 1935. In the 1936–1937 season, when caretaker Malnar was retired and replaced with its former caretaker Vladimir Srok, it saw 751 visitors, including 10 Italian, 3 German, 1 Austrian and 1 French citizens. In the 1937–1938 season, under Srok, it saw 538 visitors, including 1 French citizen. In the 1938–1939 season, with Josip Majnarić of Bela Vodica replacing Srok, it saw 519 visitors, including 14 Bulgarian and 1 Czechoslovak citizens. It saw 357 visitors in the 1939–1940 season. Renovations were carried out by master Janež of Gerovo from July to October 1940, while Danica Šapić took over from Majnarić as caretaker.

References

Bibliography

General

Biology

Tourism

* Republished as

Alpinism

External links

Park's official site

Risnjak - Hrvatskog planinarskog saveza
{{Authority control Mountains of Croatia Landforms of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County