Klek Mountain, Croatia

Klek is a mountain in north-western Croatia, near Ogulin in Karlovac County. It is the easternmost mountain of the Velika Kapela range of the Dinaric Alps.

This mountain is one of the best-known Croatian botanist reserves and home to a number of protected species of mountain flora.

According to the 17th century tale, during the nights of storm, the summit of Klek is a midnight gathering point for witches and fairies.

In the early 20th century, Klek's east and south face nurtured numerous Croatian rock climbers. The longest route length exceeds 200 m, with difficulty up to 5.12a.

Geography and geology

Klek is positioned as a prominent ridge on the eastern tips of Velika Kapela, and its slopes descend toward Ogulin and the valley of Dobra. The peaks are steep and rocky, and there are two most important ones, Klečica/Klečice or Mali Klek (1058 m), and Veliki Klek (or just Klek, 1182 m), with its prominent vertical 200 meters high "southern rock".

Klek rose during the Alpine orogeny in Tertiary, and geologically it consists of carbon sediments, i.e. Jurassic limestone and dolomite, while the peak part is made of Cretaceous limestones.

There are several speleological objects on the massif: the ''Horvat's'' or ''Klek'' cave (''Klečka spilja'' in Croatian), the ''Half-cave'' (''Polupećina'' in Croatian), the ''Jarunčica na Zakopi'' pit cave, and two pits found in this century, the ''Witch's pit cave'' (133 m deep), and another one whose entry is near the peak, at the height of 1162 m.

The climate is mountain with heavy rainfall, which encourages the formation of seeping and torrent streams that gather in Klek's ravine (''Klečka draga'' in Croatian) or Peras' gulch (''Perasov jarak'' in Croatian). Behind Peras' gulch on the northern slope of Klek there is also a ruin of the old Frankopan castle Vitunj, above a village named the same.

Climate

A weather station exists there at an elevation of . The minimum recorded temperature for the winter of 2024–2025 was , on February 19th.

Flora

In the ''Podklek'', ''Klek'', and ''Klečica'' areas there are stretches of Krummholz vegetation.

Species found on Klek include '' Achillea clavennae'', ''Aconitum napellus'', '' Afragene alpina'', '' Allium carinatum'' '' A. ericetorum'', ''Arabis scopoliana'', '' Atadinus pumilus'', '' Athamanta cretensis'', ''Campanula rotundifolia'', '' Cerastium decalvans'', '' Dianthus sternbergii'', ''Edraianthus graminifolius'', ''Gentiana acaulis'', ''Juniperus sabina'', '' Primula kitaibeliana'', '' P. vulgaris'', ''Rhododendron hirsutum'', '' Rosa alpina'', ''Saxifraga paniculata'', and '' Scrophularia laciniata''.

History

When the Vlachs of Gomirje requested a confirmation of their Uskok rights throughout the territory they inhabited in 1605, they listed its boundaries as stretching from Mali Klek – Ustanke (the confluence of the Vitunjčica and the Dobra) – Vrbica – Kamensko – Vrbovsko – Plešivica – Mošenski – Bilek – "Potschovodo" – Topolovica – Okrugljik – Radigojna – Gornji Lazi.

In April 1898, Alberto Weber wrote a poem titled "Klek":

Iznad munjâ, oblakâ i triesa
Orijaški, poput kamen diva,
Sanak vječni spokojno što sniva,
Klek se gordi diže put nebesâ

Veličajan sred mira i biesa,
Časak rujan u sunašcu pliva,
Čas mu glavu našem vidu skriva,
Tmasto velo, leglo urnebesa.

Kršna roda ponosita slika,
Alem kamen hrvatskijeh gorâ,
Ne ima mu ravna taka lika,

Od Crnoga do Jadranskog mora
Sokolovâ timor i slobode,
Na njem vile svoje kolo vode

On 4 June 1898, a botanical and entomological expedition consisting of , and August Langhoffer left Zagreb with the intent of ascending Klek, among others. In Ogulin, they met up with local guide Josip Magdić Sr., K. Harambašić,, forester A. Čop, botanist Antun Heinz and two alpinists from Zagreb. They left for Klek at 5:00 on the 5th, beginning their ascent from the house of Đure Milanović not far from Musulin Potok. They reached the peak by 10:00, remaining there until noon, returning by way of ''Perasov jarak'' to the base and from there to Ogulin, where they held a presentation of their findings in the "Frankopan" inn, including before the ''mjestni načelnik'' Vukelić and the former ''predsjednik kraljevskog sudbenog stola'' in Ogulin. Inspired by the presentation, the ''župan'' and veterinarian Fink joined together with two of his nephews an expedition that climbed Klek on 14 August, consisting of HPS president , vice president Milan Lenuci, Franjo Marković, Mrs. Seifertova and a certain Severinski as their photographer, guided by A. Čop. This second expedition was written about in Ogulin's ''Viesnik'' newspaper.

On 1 October 1900, Antun Heinz and his assistant and a friend went on a botanical expedition to Klek, guided by Ante Kostelić of Sveti Jakov. They left around 7:30, reaching the inn before Musulinski Potok in an hour and reaching ''Zorin mir'' around 10:00. They reached the top around 13:00, staying about an hour before descending the same way they had ascended.

On 19 February 1939, Ivan Bumba, Slavko Brezovečki and ascended the southeast head of Klek by a new route, ''HPD'', a route repeated in 1940 by a team including the future HPS ''povjerenik'', the Ustaša Slavko Prebendar. In May and June 1939, Marijan Dragman and Brezovečki climbed the southeast head of Klek by two new routes.

In 1941, despite 110 ascents by the Alpinism Division of the ''HPD "Zagreb"'', they were only carried out on Klek and Čvrsnica. Already in 1942, even Klek was no longer safe enough, forcing Zagreb's Alpinism Division to climb only on Medvednica, Samoborsko gorje, Zagorje and in the Tatras. In 1943, the HPS was further limited to just West and Central Medvednica.

In the spring of 1958, the roof of the mountain hut on Klek was finally finished. The idea to build a mountain hut on Klek came shortly before WWI, but despite continued attempts in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the unrealised idea had to be revived after WWII when the ''PD "Zagreb"'' built a bivouac beneath a rock shelter near the peak. The ''PD "Klek"'' Turković Selo turned the bivouac into a mountain hut. The president of the HPS, Vjećeslav Holjevac, visited the mountain hut for its opening. The mountain hut had a cistern (), and once Bjelsko and Musulin Potok were electrified, it was planned to introduce electric lighting.

On 11 May 1958, alpinists Branko Lukšić and Zvonimir Lindenbach died on the ''Tonkina priječnica'' while attempting an ascent of Klek. On 28 September 1958, a mountain hut built on Vidova gora was named after Lukšić in his memory, and its memorial plaque was moved to the new mountain hut when the old one was destroyed in 1972. On 7 July 1960, Davor Ribarović and Anton Filipčić ascended a new route up Klek, naming it ''Bankov smjer''. In the Ogulin castle park, there is a memorial to the 7 alpinists who have died on Klek, including Lukšić and Lindenbach. The ''PDS Velebit'' placed a memorial plaque at the exit from ''Tonkina priječnica'' honouring Lučić and Lindenbach, reading:

See also

* List of mountains in Croatia

Notes

References

Bibliography

Alpinism

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Biology

*

External links

description at Summitpost.org

Klek climbing routes at Rockclimbing.com

{{Authority control

Landforms of Karlovac County
Mountains of Croatia
Ogulin