The Udin Woods ( sl, Udin boršt, in older sources ''Udnjiboršt'', german: Herzogsforst) is one of the oldest glacial terraces in the Ljubljana Basin. It is a contiguous wooded area clearly delineated from its surroundings. The woods is dominated by

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

, and deciduous trees include

sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

, and beech. It has natural value in terms of its botanical features, terrain, and geomorphology. It was given the status of a protected landscape area in 1985.

Extent

The Udin Woods encompasses nearly the entire area bounded by the road from Kranj to Golnik on the east, the old road from Kranj to

Tržič Tržič (; german: Neumarktl) is a town in northern Slovenia, close to the Austrian border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Tržič. Geography The town is located within the historic Upper Carniola region on the Tržič Bistrica River ...

on the west, the A2 freeway on the south, and Mount Križe ( sl, Kriška gora, ) to the north.

Name

The area was attested in written sources in 1495 as ''Hertzogenvorsst'', and in 1679–89 as ''Udenwald'' and ''Hertzogforst'', literally 'duke's forest'. The Slovene name ''Udin boršt'' is derived from *''vivodinj'' 'duke's' + ''boršt'' 'forest' (a borrowing from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

''for(e)st''). The name of the hamlet of Udna Vas (< 'duke's village') has the same origin.Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, pp. 444–445.

Formation

The Udin Woods is a glacial remnant, as shown by its gravelly or conglomerate composition. The conglomerate is dominated by limestone material; pebbles of volcanic origin are less common. Karstification took place during the Holocene interglacial, when limestone terrace flooding provided good conditions for the development of karst under a warmer climate and with abundant water. During this period various karst features were formed: sinkholes, karst caves,Lipar, M., & M. Ferk. 2011. Eogenetic Caves in Conglomerate: An Example from Udin Boršt, Slovenia. ''International Journal of Speleology'' 40 (1): 53–64. and

karst spring A karst spring or karstic spring is a spring (outflow of groundwater) that is part of a karst hydrological system. Description Because of their often conical or inverted bowl shape, karst springs are also known in German-speaking lands as a ''T ...

s, which vary in their output but never go dry because a layer of impermeable Oligocene clay lies under the conglomerate. The conglomerate that composes the terraces is to thick. Springs appear at the contact points; their output is less variable than in Dinaric karst areas and they have a constant flow. The character of the karst in the Udin Woods is distinct from other karst areas in Slovenia.

Features

The geology of the Udin Woods includes karst phenomena that have formed in the thick layer of conglomerate, especially caves up to long. The area was already populated in prehistoric times. The three most important archaeological sites had fortified hilltop settlements: the Arh Hillfort (''Arhovo gradišče''), Klemenc Hillfort (''Klemenčevo gradišče''), and Štucelj Hillfort (''Gradišče na Štuclju''). There are visible remnants of moats and elevated rings where wooden palisades protected the settlements. Some settlements also existed during Roman times, such as the Štucelj Hillfort, where the Romans built a guard tower.

References

External links

*
The Udin Woods on Geopedia

{{coord, 46, 17, 38, N, 14, 19, 29, E, scale:500000_region:SI, display=title Landscape parks in Slovenia Ljubljana Basin Forests of Slovenia Geography of Upper Carniola