Established by Decree of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialist Republic No. 220/1988 Coll. of 9 November 1988, as amended by Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 287/1994 Coll.
Address:
Správa CHKO Záhorie
(Administration of the Záhorie PLA)
Vajanského ul. 17
901 01 Malacky
Web:
https://chkozahorie.sopsr.sk
Tel.:
034 772 27 35
Fax:
034 772 27 35
HOT LINE:
0903 298 338
Area of operation: the Protected Landscape Area, the districts of Malacky, Myjava, Senica and Skalica
The Záhorie Protected Landscape Area is the first lowland protected landscape area to be designated in Slovakia. It consists of two parts – the north-eastern and western parts.
The north-eastern part is shaped by wind-driven processes associated with the transport of sand. The landscape consists of sand ridges, wind-rippled sand sheets, sand basins, rounded sand drifts and crescent-shaped dunes. Owing to its location, the Záhorská nížina lowland intersects mountain ranges running north to south, thus forming an important migration route for seasonal bird movements. The current temperature contrast between the cool inter-dune depressions and the warm sand deposits gives rise to a rich diversity of plant species, where mountain species – remnants of colder periods – alternate with species typical of warm and dry habitats.
The fauna consists mainly of species associated with warm, dry habitats, such as antlions and hoopoes. Pine forests, with their abundance of insect predators, provide a food source for the nightjar, the tree pipit and bats.
The western part of the protected landscape area comprises a landscape shaped by the course of a major river, featuring river terraces and a wide floodplain.
The floodplain meadows, with their well-preserved rich flora, are currently unrivalled in Slovakia in terms of their extent. The meadows are harmoniously spread out alongside floodplain forests, whose tree species composition is similar to that of the original forests. The undulating boundaries between the forests and the meadows are densely interwoven with a network of old river branches, river lakes and seasonal wetlands. Together, these three main elements of the landscape structure create a varied and, thanks to regular flooding, dynamic environment, providing suitable living conditions for a wide range of plant and animal species.
Among the flora, the carpet of whole-leaved clematis, covering several square kilometres, is particularly striking.
As for the fauna, the most characteristic groups are those associated with water, such as relict crustaceans, molluscs, fish, amphibians and numerous species of waterfowl. Recently, the return of the beaver has also given the riparian floodplain forests a new distinctive character.