The Sečovlje Saltworks (; ) is the largest

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...

. Along with the Strunjan Saltworks, they are the northernmost

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

saltworks and one of the few where salt is still produced in a traditional way, as well as a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

of international importance and a breeding place for waterbirds. They are part of the Piran Saltworks and are located at Parecag in Slovenian Istria, the southwest of the country, at the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, along the mouth of the Dragonja River near Sečovlje. The saltworks have been active since the 13th century. Nowadays, the salt production is carried on in order to preserve natural and cultural heritage. The area of the saltworks and the Seča peninsula have been declared the Sečovlje Salina Landscape Park. The Museum of Salt-Making in Sečovlje received the

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Latin for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for cultural heritage, Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement ...

Prize, bestowed by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

to outstanding initiatives for the preservation of cultural heritage in 2003, the first Slovene organisation to be awarded. The salt produced at the saltworks is marketed as Piran Salt () and has

Protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

status in the

. In 1993, the saltworks were put on the

list of Ramsar wetlands of international importance Ramsar sites are protected under by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and r ...

. The wetland covers in the mouth of the Dragonja.

Flora

Of particular importance are

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...

s - the plants that require high salt concentrations for growing - among them '' Salicornia europea'', '' Arthrochnemum fruticosum'', '' Halimione portulacoides'', '' Limonium angustifolium'', '' Artemisia caerulescens'', ''

Suaeda maritima ''Suaeda maritima'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common names herbaceous seepweed and annual seablite. Description It is a yellow-green shrub with fleshy, succulent leaves and green flowers. It grows ...

'', and the golden samphire (''Inula crithmoides''). File:Limonium angustifolium.jpg, ''Limonium angustifolium'' File:Illustration Ruppia maritima0.jpg, ''

Ruppia maritima ''Ruppia maritima'' is an aquatic plant species commonly known as beaked tasselweed, beaked ditchgrass, ditch grass, tassel pondweed and widgeon grass. Despite its scientific name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt- ...

'' grows in closed channels with deeper and salt water. File:Salicornia europaea.jpg, Occasionally, the pioneer community of ''Salicornia europea'' covers a saltwork pool. File:Bellevalia romana0.jpg, Sečovlje Saltworks are the only Slovenian growing place of '' Bellevalia romana''

Fauna

Over 280 bird species have been spotted in the Sečovlje Saltworks, at least four of them having their only nesting place here. The saltworks are home to numerous invertebrates, like shrimps and shells, and vertebrates. Among insects, the bee species '' Tetraloniella nana'' and '' Pseudoapis bispinosa'', and the bug '' Dimorphopterus blissoides'' have been found in the Sečovlje Saltworks. Among vertebrates, the

Etruscan shrew The Etruscan shrew (''Suncus etruscus''), also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew, white-toothed pygmy shrew and Savi's pygmy shrew, is the smallest known extant mammal by mass, weighing only about on average. (The bumblebee bat is regarded as t ...

(''Suncus etruscus''), the

Italian wall lizard The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (''Podarcis siculus'', from the Greek meaning ''foot'' and ''agile''), is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. ''P. siculus'' is native to southern and southeastern Europe, but has also been introdu ...

(''Podarcis sicula''), and the

lesser mouse-eared bat The lesser mouse-eared bat or lesser mouse-eared myotis (''Myotis blythii'') is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Vespertilionidae. This species has a wide distribution from the Iberian Peninsula to China. Taxonomy The lesser mouse-e ...

(''Myotis blythii'') live here. File:Larus cachinnans 3 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg, Yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') File:Egretta garzetta 003.jpg, The

little egret The little egret (''Egretta garzetta'') is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on ...

is the most common species of the egret and the symbol of the Sečovlje Saltworks. File:Artemia salina.jpg, A number of water animals, for example the brine shrimp '' Artemia salina'', live in the Sečovlje Saltworks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Secovlje Saltworks Municipality of Piran Sečovlje Saltworks Natural Park Istria Agriculture in Slovenia Wetlands in the Slovene Littoral Saltworks Natura 2000 in Slovenia Ramsar sites in Slovenia Bodies of water of the Slovene Littoral