Lanškroun Ponds Nature Park ( cs, Přírodní park Lanškrounské rybníky) is a nature park in

Ústí nad Orlicí District Ústí nad Orlicí District ( cs, okres Ústí nad Orlicí) is a district (''okres'') within Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Ústí nad Orlicí. The district has borders with Pardubice District to the west, Sv ...

in the

Pardubice Region Pardubice Region ( cs, Pardubický kraj; , ; pl, Kraj pardubicki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It includes the Lanškroun Ponds Nature Reserve.

Location

Lanškroun Ponds Nature Park is located mostly in the municipal territory of

Lanškroun Lanškroun (; german: Landskron) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,300 inhabitants. It lies on the border of the historical lands of Bohemia and Moravia. The historic town centr ...

, northwestern of the town. The nature park also extends into the territory of municipalities Ostrov and Rudoltice.

Description

The nature park has an area of , out of which are the ponds. The nature park is formed by set of seven fish ponds on the Ostrovský Stream and their surroundings: Krátký, Dlouhý, Olšový, Pšeničkův, Plockův, Slunečný and Ostrovský. Part of the nature park is also the area around the Zadní Stream which flows in the territory into the Ostrovský Stream. The northernmost ponds, Pšeničkův and Olšový, and the closest area around the Zadní Stream are protected as a nature reserve.

History

The history of pond farming started here in 1433. Dlouhý pond was founded before 1464 as the first pond in the set. The last was founded Slunečný pond in 1965. The nature park was established in 1990.

Use

The nature park was established as a place for relaxation and sports activities, and also for biological and aesthetic preservation. Krátky and Slunečný are used for fishing. Dlouhý is the largest pond and is used for recreational purposes. It is a natural swimming pool with the possibility of yachting and windsurfing. An educational path leads through the nature park.

Protection

The area of Lanškroun Ponds is an important nesting place for migratory birds. The

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ov ...

little bittern The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

and

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

water rail The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the Rallidae, rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are bird migration, migratory, but this species is a perma ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

great reed warbler The great reed warbler (''Acrocephalus arundinaceus'') is a Eurasian passerine in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. The genus name ''Acrocephalus'' is from Ancient Greek ''akros'', "highest", and ''kephale'', "head". It is possible that Naumann and ...

and many duck species are among the endangered birds who nest in the area. The area is also home to European crayfish,

alpine newt The alpine newt (''Ichthyosaura alpestris'') is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and thro ...

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and green toad,

European tree frog The European tree frog (''Hyla arborea'') is a small tree frog. As traditionally defined, it was found throughout much of Europe, Asia and northern Africa,Frost, Darrel R. ''Amphibian Species of the World''. Allen Press, Inc., 1985, p. 126. but b ...

and other species of amphibians. The flora is typical for damp areas and includes the

yellow iris ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", ref ...

, white water lilly, western marsh orchid, spring snowflake and other species.

References

{{Coord, 49, 55, 12, N, 16, 34, 12, E, display=title Nature reserves in the Czech Republic Ústí nad Orlicí District