Koseze Pond

This article is about a pond in Ljubljana. For the pond at Selo pri Vodicah, see Skaručna Basin.
Koseze Pond
Koseze Pond
Koseze Pond is located in Slovenia
Koseze Pond
Koseze Pond
LocationŠiška District, City Municipality of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Coordinates46°4′2.35″N 14°28′7.76″E / 46.0673194°N 14.4688222°E / 46.0673194; 14.4688222
Typeartificial pond
Primary inflowsMostec Creek
Basin countriesSlovenia
Surface area3.8 ha (9.4 acres)
Max. depth2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in)

Koseze Pond (Slovene: Koseški bajer), Martinek Pond (Martinek bajer), Lake Koseze (Koseško jezero) or simply the Pond (Bajer) is an artificial pond at the edge of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia,[1] between Šiška Hill to the west and the neighborhood of Mostec to the east.[2][3] It is part of the Tivoli–Rožnik Hill–Šiška Hill Landscape Park and is named after the nearby Koseze neighborhood in Ljubljana's Šiška District. Near Koseze Pond, the Path of Remembrance and Comradeship touches Tivoli–Rožnik Hill–Šiška Hill Landscape Park.[4]

The pond has an area of 3.8 hectares (9.4 acres)[5] and a maximum depth of 2–3 metres (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in).[6] It is fed by Mostec Creek.[7] It was created after a former clay pit[8] at the site, which supplied the brickworks operated by Gustav Tönnies (1814–1886), was closed. The pit was then overgrown by grass, but the Agrostroj company later flooded the area to test irrigation pumps.[9]

Koseze Pond is now used as a recreation area by local residents. In the summer it is used for racing radio-controlled model boats and fishing. Swimming is prohibited due to the poor quality of the water, which is also contaminated by cyanobacteria.[10] In the winter it is used for skating. Koseze Pond is a natural habitat for the edible frog, migrant hawker, common bulrush, and common reed.[11] It is also the nesting place of the common moorhen, the mute swan and other bird species.[12]

Koseze Pond is featured in the novel Ne bom se več drsal na bajerju (I Will No Longer Skate on the Pond), which was awarded the Kresnik prize, the most prestigious prize for novels in Slovenia, in June 2023. The novel was written by Lado Kralj and awarded posthumously. It takes place in Ljubljana during the Italian occupation in the early 1940s and in the post-war period in the 1950s. It focuses on the Šiška District of Ljubljana, where a young man working for the Communists falls in love with a student at the monastery boarding school, a woman who is also the love interest of an Italian officer.[13]

  1. ^ Struna Bregar, Ana; Kuhar, Špela (17 June 2011). "Koseški bajer, Ljubljana" (PDF). Mladina: Bivanje (in Slovenian). No. 24.
  2. ^ "Ljubljanska pot" [Ljubljana Trail]. Vodnik po regionalnih pešpoteh v Ljubljanski urbani regiji [A Guide Through the Regional Trails in the Ljubljana Urban Region] (PDF) (in Slovenian). Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region. August 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  3. ^ Drobnič, Žiga (2006). "6.4. Primerjava sosesk Savsko naselje (1957) in Mostec (2001)" [6.4. A Comparison of the Sava Settlement (1975) and Mostec (2001) Neighborhoods]. Javne zelene površine v Ljubljani [Public Green Areas in Ljubljana] (PDF) (in Slovenian). Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. p. 75.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Pot spominov in tovarištva - na kratko PST" [The Path of Remembrance and Comradeship (PST)]. Pot spominov in tovarištva [The Path of Remembrance and Comradeship] (PDF) (in Slovenian and English). Ljubljana Tourist Board. April 2006. pp. 10–11.
  5. ^ Pestotnik, Simona (2011). "Koseški bajer" [Koseze Pond]. Hidrološki model Glinščice s programom Flo-2D: diplomska naloga št. 175 [Hydrological Model of the Glinščica Watershed with the Software Flo-2D: Graduation Thesis No. 175] (PDF) (thesis). Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana. p. 39.
  6. ^ Petkovšek, Janez (25 July 2011). "Koseški bajer ogroža zdravje ljudi?" [Koseze Pond Endangers the Health of People?]. Delo.si (in Slovenian).
  7. ^ Smrekar, Aleš; Bojan Erhartič; Mateja Šmid Hribar (2011). Krajinski park Tivoli, Rožnik in Šišenski hrib [The Tivoli–Rožnik–Šiška Hill Landscape Park]. ZRC Publishing House. p. 56. ISBN 978-961-254-291-7.
  8. ^ Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 344.
  9. ^ Gričnik, Anton. 1997. Bela Ljubljana: zgodbe iz slovenske prestolnice. Ljubljana: Kmečki glas, p. 75.
  10. ^ Koseški bajer ogroža zdravje ljudi? (Koseze Pond a Health Threat?) (in Slovene)
  11. ^ City Municipality of Ljubljana. 2004. Koseški bajer (sign posted at the pond). Ljubljana: MOL, ZRSVN.
  12. ^ Inventarizacija ptic v krajinskem parku Tivoli, Rožnik in Šišenski hrib [The Inventory of birds in the Tivoli, Rožnik and Šišenski hill Landscape Park] (PDF) (in Slovenian). DOPPS - Birdlife Slovenia. October 2005. p. 11. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Wartime story named Slovenian novel of the year". Slovena Times. 24 June 2023.