Nature park Lonjsko Polje

Lonjsko Polje Nature Park is geographically located in the area of ​​the middle course of the Sava River, about 75 km southeast of Zagreb.

50,650 ha of protected area is located along the left bank of the Sava River in the length of about a hundred kilometers. The entire area of ​​the Park is a distinctly lowland area, with an altitude of 90 to 110 m, and by its character it is a flooded area with settlements of a rural character. On both sides of the Sava River there are traditional rural settlements with well-preserved traditional architecture in wood (oak) and the associated cultural landscape of Central Posavina.

In the area of ​​the Park there are 14 rural settlements - Osekovo, Stružec, Čigoč, Kratečko, Mužilovčica, Suvoj, Lonja, Trebež, Puska, Krapje, Drenov Bok, Jasenovac, Košutarica and Mlaka.

Lonjsko Polje Nature Park is one of the largest and best preserved natural floodplains in Europe. Every year, the waters of the Sava River and its tributaries flow into Lonjsko, Poganovo and Mokro polje. Thanks to such periodic flooding, the Nature Park is a unique treasure trove of biological diversity not only in Croatia, but on the entire Old Continent.

Lowland floodplain forests of pedunculate oak and field ash represent the most representative deciduous forest complexes and on a larger scale - in the entire Western Palearctic.

When flood waters recede into the Sava riverbed, wet grasslands become one of the last areas in Europe where traditional grazing has been preserved. There the cattle graze freely on large common pastures.

This area is a habitat for more than two thirds of the total bird population in Croatia. Their stability depends on the preservation and compactness of large complexes of lowland floodplain forests and grasslands.

The area is also one of the most important river fish hatcheries in the entire Danube basin. Ecological processes and flood dynamics have shaped a specific way of traditional land use by creating a unique mosaic of anthropogenic and natural habitats important for the conservation of biological and landscape diversity.

From the first records of the settlement of the area along the middle course of the Sava River, people lived in harmony with nature. The local population has preserved the traditional way of life to this day. Extensive grazing of cattle, horses and pigs (which includes several indigenous breeds such as Slavonian-Srijem Podolian cattle and Turopolje pigs) and the preservation of the unique traditional architecture of wooden houses make this area a unique example of natural, landscape and cultural heritage. The basic land use activities are grazing, hunting, fishing, forestry and water management.

The natural floodplains of Lonjsko, Mokro and Poganovo polje play a key role in the flood defense system and in the international context represent one of the first examples in the world where flood defense is based on the use of natural floodplains. Natural retentions, except in the flood defense system, are important in the process of purification of water from watercourses, restoration of groundwater reserves and mitigation of extreme hydrological and meteorological consequences of climate change.