Cerknica Lake is one of the largest intermittent lakes in Europe. It appears every year on the karst field, caught between the Javorniki on one side and the Bloke plateau and Slivnica on the other. In the dry part of the year, the lake disappears, so you can row, fish, walk and mow a meadow in the same place all year round!
The lake is usually present about eight months a year in the Cerknica Field. Usually, the water spills over a surface of more than 20km2, but when there is a lot of water, the surface of the lake measures around 26km2. When full, Cerknica Lake is the largest lake in Slovenia.
Cerknica Lake has been mentioned for the first time in antique times, and has been on the maps of Europe since the 15th century. Janez Vajkard Valvasor was the first to delve into its workings, which earned him membership in the Royal Society of London. This is a cradle of karstology and terms such as karst field and intermittent lake.
The importance of the intermittent Cerknica Lake therefore goes far beyond Slovenian borders. Cerknica Lake, together with Rakov Škocjan and Križna Cave, has been declared an internationally important wetland – a Ramsar site, and because of its importance for the life of endangered birds, it is also a Natura 2000 area.
276 bird species were observed here – half of all European species; 45 species of mammals live here – half of all Slovenian species; 125 species of day butterflies here – just under a third of all European species; 15 species of amphibians also spawn here – almost a quarter of all European amphibian species, etc. The biodiversity of this area is truly remarkable!
Humans have always been connected to the intermittent Cerknica Lake. With an abundance of fish and game, the Lake has attracted and supported people since the Stone Age. Generations of hard-working hands have after all co-shaped the characteristic landscape on the moist soil of the lake basin and by maintaining flood meadows they still provide a living space for endangered plants and animals.
