Basic HTML Version
8
The County of Primorje-Gorski kotar is located in the
western part of the Republic of Croatia and comprises
an area of 7,990.57 km
2
. The county’s varied landscape
encompasses three large geographical parts – islands,
coasts and highlands – each with its own specific
features.
The mountainous parts of the county include the
forest areas of Gorski kotar with the highest peaks and
mountain ridges: Bjelolasica 1,534 m, Risnjak 1,528 m,
Snježnik 1,505 m, Viševica 1,428 m, and – bordering
with the coastline – Obruč 1,376 m. There are 73 peaks
in the county higher than 1,250 metres. Gorski kotar is
the least inhabited area in the county, but boasts several
ancient centres of human dwelling that originated as a
result of early activities such as mining and agriculture,
or because this was the traffic and transit junction
between the coastal and continental parts of Croatia.
These are the towns of Delnice, Vrbovsko and Čabar.
The natural environment in Gorski kotar is well
conserved and luxuriant. Its varied habitats are home
to some very valuable species that are very different to
those on the coast and islands. But it is precisely this
variety and unusual contrasts that give this region its
special status within the wider European context.
This extraordinary biological diversity is a result of the
fact that, according to palaeontological findings, this
area and its immediate surroundings were refugia for
flora and fauna during the last ice age, which explains
why there are so many relict and endemic species living
inGorski kotar today. These include rare landmammals,
large predators (wolf, bear, lynx and otter), rare and
endangered birds (golden eagle, honey buzzard, eagle
owl, three-toed woodpecker, capercaillie…), and the
valuable fauna of the clear rivers. The Kupa, the cleanest
mountain river in Croatia, is home to a number of fish
species that have been declared endangered in Europe
(grayling, brown trout, huchen…) and several rare
and endemic invertebrates.
The famous Croatian botanist, Prof. Dr. Ivo Horvat,
called the mountains of Gorski kotar “the Croatian
gates” through which in the past many Alpine species
arrived in the Dinarides and vice versa. The mountains
of Gorski kotar also played a significant role in the
spreading of Alpine and Arctic-Alpine flora and
vegetation into south-eastern parts of Europe, especially
during the ice ages. This vegetation, with many rare
plant and animal species – glacial and boreal relicts
– and numerous endemic mountain species, has
survived right up to the present day on the highest peaks
HIGHLAND