- Carska Bara
Carska Bara (Serbian
Cyrillic : Царска бара) is the largest individualbog and one of the majornature reserve s inSerbia . It is located in theBanat region of the province ofVojvodina .Location
Carska Bara is located 17 kilometers southwest of the town of
Zrenjanin , in the west-central part of the Serbian section of Banat, near the mouth of the riverBegej into theTisa . The southern border is bounded by the final, navigable section of the Begej before it empties into the Tisa (followed by theBelgrade -Zrenjanin road), while to the north are the vastEčka fishpond s, the largest in Serbia. Entire bog belongs to the municipality of Zrenjanin.Settlements and human history
Even though it is located in the triangle of large cities Belgrade-Novi Sad-Zrenjanin (largest cities in Serbia, Vojvodina and Serbian Banat, respectively), all settlements in the vicinity of Carska bara are smaller ones, ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 inhabitants. The closest settlements are
Perlez , in southern corner, on the Begej, andBelo Blato , east of the bog, on the southern shore of Ečka fishpond. In the north are the villages ofLukino Selo ,Ečka andStajićevo , whileKnićanin is southwest of it. Town ofTitel is right across the bridge on the Tisa. Gallery of the painting colony of "Ečka" is located on the northern tip of the bog.Human history in the area surrounding Carska bara goes back to 4,000 years B.C., with uncovered
mound s nearMužlja ("Batka") and Titel ("Kalvarija"). According to legend, the bog ("carska bara", Serbian for "imperial bog"), was named afterAtilla the Hun , king of theHuns . [ [http://www.serbia-tourism.org/srpski/tekst.php?podaci=priroda.txt&gde=car Carska Bara (Serbian only)] ] .Geography
The entire, physically connected wetland of Carska Bara covers an area of 11 square kilometers and the entire system consists of three smaller, connected ponds (Carska, Perleska and Tiganjica) [Jovan Đ. Marković (1990): "Enciklopedijski geografski leksikon Jugoslavije"; Svjetlost-Sarajevo; ISBN 86-01-02651-6] . It extends for 8 to 9 kilometers along the Begej (approximately from Begej's 4th to 15th kilometer) ["Turističko područje Beograda", "Geokarta", 2007, ISBN 86-459-0099-8 ] . Wetland consists of many smaller bodies of water: rivers, canals, lakes and ponds, covered with
reed bed s,willow thicket s and rushes and it is known for its color diversity. The central, lake section is known for its blue, clear water, while the surroundingsalt marsh es have white and yellow waters, all within green woods. Previously, Carska Bara consisted of smaller and larger swamps, but in time it basically turned into a complex of Begej'smeanders which are naturally getting shortened and narrowed and the bog gets more and more inclined compared to the river bed.Wildlife
Plants
Many rare and autochthonous plants live in the wetland, but also many imported ones. Some representatives of the water plants include
water fern , white water lilly and water farina. Meadow plants are represented byplumbago ,Achillea ,Absinthe wormwood ,mallow andmeadow sage and marsh plants byflowering rush , yellow flag iris, water mannagrass common sweet flag, etc.Animals
In Carska Bara and nearby Begej river there are 24 different species of fish. Amphibians (
fire salamander ,edible frog ) and reptiles (sand lizard ,European pond terrapin ) are also abundant.Carska Bara is the best known for its abundant bird life, as 240 bird species live in it [
Blic daily, "Staništa retkih ptica",April 25 ,2007 ] . There are colonies ofherons andcormorants (includingpygmy cormorant ), and other species includewhite-tailed eagle ,buzzards ,Eurasian sparrowhawk s,common spoonbill s,western marsh harrier ,Montagu's Harrier ,red-breasted goose ,ferruginous duck ,osprey ,Wild Goose ,stork ,heron ,woodcock etc.Variety of mammals include
wild hog ,roe deer ,red fox ,European Brown Hare ,muskrat ,bats ,hedgehog , mole,weasel ,hamster ,European ground squirrel ,European polecat , etc.Protection
Special nature reserve of Stari Begej-Carska Bara was proclaimed in 1955 , with status being revised in 1995. It covers an area of 16.76 square kilometers, wider than Carska Bara itself. cite conference
first =
last =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Serbia heading for sustainable tourism
booktitle = Serbia: Approaching the summit on sustainable development
pages =
publisher = Ministry of Environmental Protection of Republic of Serbia
date = 2002-04-26
location = Johannesburg
url =
accessdate = 2007-07-25
id =
pages=24] . It also has been declared aRamsar site onMarch 25 ,1996 . [ [http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist_order.pdf List of Ramsar sites] ] .References
External links
* [http://www.pbase.com/vmarinkovic/image/76911349 Photos of Carska Bara]
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