Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Malé Karpaty) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. The Landscape Area is situated in the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...

, part of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

, in West Slovakia. The southwesternmost area is

Devínska Kobyla Devínska Kobyla (; hu, Dévényi-tető; german: Thebener Kogel) is the highest peak in the Devín Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range, and the highest point of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located between t ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, and the northeasternmost area is the Čachtice Carpathians at the town of

Nové Mesto nad Váhom Nové Mesto nad Váhom (; german: Neustadt an der Waag, Neustadtl, Waag-Neustadtl, Waagneustadtl, Waag-Neustadt; hu, Vágújhely, Vág-Újhely) is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia. Geography District town located at the northern edge ...

and the village of

Čachtice Čachtice (, hu, Csejte) is a village in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in western Slovakia with a population of 4,010 (as of 2014). The village is situated between the Danubian Lowland and the Little Carpathians. It is best known for the rui ...

in the

Trenčín Region The Trenčín Region ( sk, Trenčiansky kraj, ; cs, Trenčínský kraj; hu, Trencséni kerület) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It consists of 9 districts ('' okresy''). The region was established in 1996: previously it had ...

. Both areas are separated from the main mountain strip. The area protects of the mountains.

History

The Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area was established on 5 May 1976. The law that created the Landscape Area was amended on 30 March 2001. Before the Little Carpathians PLA was declared in 1976, there were 6 protected areas in the territory: Roštún National Nature Reserve (since 1953), Devínska Kobyla National Nature Reserve (1964), Čachtice Castle Hill National Nature Reserve (1964), Sandberg Nature Reserve (1964), Driny Cave Nature Monument (1968), and Čachtická Cave Nature Monument (1972).

Geography

The Little Carpathians are the borderline mountains of the

Inner Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya ...

. The three highest points are

Záruby Záruby is the highest hill of the Little Carpathians. It is located at an altitude of 768 m, near the village of Smolenice Smolenice ( hu, Szomolány; german: Smolenitz) is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava Region of ...

at , Vysoká at and Vápenná at .

Biology and ecology

Deciduous trees In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...

are dominant, with the

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, linden,

European ash ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albo ...

, and sycamore maple being most widespread. The Little Carpathians PLA is the only place in Slovakia where some plants grow, for example, ''

Ruscus hypoglossum ''Ruscus hypoglossum'' is a small evergreen shrub with a native range from Italy north to Austria and Slovakia and east to Turkey and Crimea. Common names include spineless butcher's-broom, mouse thorn and horse tongue lily. The species name com ...

'' and ''

Rhamnus saxatilis Rhamnus may refer to: * Rhamnus (city), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek city in Attica * Rhamnus (Crete), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek town in Crete * Rhamnus, an augur killed by Nisus and Euryalus in book IX of The Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ...

''.

Insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

include 700 species of

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

and 20

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

. Notable species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

are represented by the

rock thrush The rock thrushes, ''Monticola'', are a genus of chats, medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous songbirds. All are Old World birds, and most are associated with mountainous regions. Taxonomy The genus was erected by the German naturali ...

northern wheatear The northern wheatear or wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It is th ...

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 ...

European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Etymology Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera '' Leptodon'' a ...

short-toed eagle The short-toed snake eagle (''Circaetus gallicus''), also known as the short-toed eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The genus na ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

, and

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

. The Landscape Area is home to the largest population of the

saker falcon The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...

in Slovakia.

Protected areas

The protected landscape area includes other protected areas like nature reserves and national nature reserves. These include: * Strmina * Pod Pajštúnom * Jurské jazero

Tourism

The Little Carpathians PLA is the only large protected area in Slovakia with extensive vineyards, which are a part of the Little Carpathians Wine Route. The southwestern part contains the

Bratislava Forest Park Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, which is popular with many visitors from Bratislava and includes localities like

Koliba Koliba is the name of a locality in Bratislava, Slovakia, which is situated on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. It administratively belongs to the Nové Mesto borough and is part of the Bratislava Forest Park Bratislava (, also ; ...

. There are many castles in the area, many of which are in ruins now. The notable examples are Biely Kameň Castle,

Červený Kameň Castle Červený Kameň Castle ( sk, Hrad Červený Kameň, hu, Vöröskő vára, german: Bibersburg, earlier Rotenstein) is a 13th-century castle in southwestern Slovakia in the Little Carpathians near the village of Častá. History A stone castle ...

and

Smolenice Castle Smolenice Castle ( sk, Smolenický zámok) is a castle in the eastern slope of the Little Carpathians, near the town of Smolenice, Slovakia. History Smolenice Castle was built in the 15th century, but it was destroyed during Rákóczi's War of ...

. The Landscape Area includes an extensive network of

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

and bicycle trails.

Driny Driny is a limestone cave in West Slovakia in the Little Carpathians Mountains. It is located around 2 km southwest of the village of Smolenice. The cave's entrance altitude is 399 m. The first attempt to enter the cave was made by Prussian ...

is the only cave open to public.

Gallery

File:Jablonka.jpg, Jablonka Creek between the villages of Višňové and

File:Ostry Kamen ruins.jpg, Ruins of

Ostrý Kameň Castle Ostrý Kameň Castle (german: Scharfenstein; hu, Éleskő) is a ruined castle in the municipality of Buková in the Trnava region of Slovakia. History The castle was first mentioned in 1273. Although the origins of the Ostrý Kameň castle are ...

at 569 m near

File:Derava skala 03.jpg, Cave Deravá skala File:Krslenica 12.jpg, Kršlenica Rocks

References

sopsr.sk

External links

Little Carpathians PLA
a
Slovakia.travel
a
Spectacular SlovakiaLittle Carpathians Wine Route
{{National parks of Slovakia Protected areas of Slovakia Protected areas established in 1976 Protected areas of the Western Carpathians Geography of Bratislava Geography of Trenčín Region