Čabraď Castle represents an unusually beautiful combination of natural beauty and the art of our ancestors.
The castle and its immediate and wider surroundings also deserve attention from a conservation point of view, because a unique natural treasure is hidden here. The meandering Litava River has created beautiful natural scenery in the Krupinská plain, which is home to rare fauna and flora. Without a closer knowledge and relationship with nature, its protection cannot be ensured. We believe that this corner of Slovakia will appeal to you and that you will contribute to the protection of nature with your considerate behavior.
Thank you for observing the conditions of protection of the nature reserve:
– do not light a fire outside the designated areas
– move only on footpaths and purpose-built roads
– do not enter the territory of the reserve with motor vehicles, bicycles and motorbikes
– do not disturb wildlife, do not damage the environment of animals
– do not pollute the water and the natural environment with garbage
– do not destroy plants and their parts
The area under the castle and the territory outside the reserve are used for directed human activities.
Čabraď Nature Reserve and its protection.
A deeply indented meander of the Litavce River with a natural riverbed and riparian vegetation, surrounds the castle hill on three sides. In the valley floodplain, mesophilic and moist meadows, above them on the slopes, thermophilic communities. Forests of beech-oak and oak-beech vegetation levels. All this on the basis of young volcanic rocks (andesite breccias, tuffs, tuffites and andesites).
From the point of view of nature conservation, this is the most important reptile locality in Slovakia, and the occurrence of several representatives of rare and endangered invertebrate species, especially thermophilic insects, is also significant.
Among amphibians, the species that are not immediately endangered include the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata), the green toad (Bufo viridis), the green frog (Rana esculenta) and the brown frog (Rana temporaria). We must consider the spotted salamander (Trituris vulgaris), the green tree frog (Hyla arborea), the warty toad (Bufo bufo) and the long-legged frog (Rana dalmatina) as endangered species.
Among the reptiles, the green lizard (Lacerta viridis) and the tree snake (Elaphe longissima) are immediately endangered, while the situation is much better for the wall lizard (Lacerta muralis) and the grass snake (Natrix natrix). Somewhere between these groups, due to the current state of population density, are the species of the brittle snail (Anguis fragilis), the sharp lizard (Lacerta agilis) and the smooth snake (Coronella austriaca).
The occurrence of protected and endangered plant species also deserves attention. Among the protected plant species, there is the common dogwood (Cornus mas), the pinnate-petrel (Staphylea pinnata), the golden-headed lily (Lilium martagon), the two-leaved primrose (Platanthera bifolia), the fragrant lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), the poison helmet (Aconitum anthora), the yellow helmet (Aconitum vulparia), and the crowned cuckoo (Lychnis coronaria). Among the endangered species, we can mention the common orchid (Orchis morio), the rock cinquefoil (Potentilla rupestris), the stinking dry flower (Xeroloma cylindracea), the purple orchid (Orchis purpurea) and others.
The best preserved are the forest communities of the adjacent slopes, including the forest-steppe parts. The castle hill itself was deforested in the past.
The first efforts for legislative protection of the area date back to the period after 1960. The protected site (CHN) Čabradský hradný vrch was declared in 1967 on an area of 0.59 ha with a protection zone of 16.02 ha. In 1984, the area was expanded and declared the CHN Čabraď with a total area of 141.21 ha. With the entry into force of the Nature and Landscape Protection Act (January 1, 1995), the category of the Čabraď Nature Reserve was changed to the category of National Nature Reserve (NPR) with the fifth, strictest level of protection. Since 2003, the category of nature reserve (PR) has been in effect.
In the interest of nature protection, practical steps have been taken since the mid-1980s to preserve or improve the conditions for the subject of protection, especially reptiles and amphibians. In the center of the reserve – the castle grounds, the courtyard areas are being illuminated by felling invasive trees. Artificial amphibian hatcheries were built in the foothills. It was possible to reduce negative anthropic impacts (excessive grazing, mowing, water pollution, high visitor numbers, interest from terrarists and the disposal of water bodies by dumping garbage).
In connection with the preparation of the NATURA 2000 network, the Čabraď Nature Reserve and its surroundings are a proposed area of European importance Litava River (SKUEV 0036).
Today (2004) the reserve is the subject of reassessment within the national system of protected areas with the 4th and 5th levels of protection.
The territory of the reserve is accessible by a blue marked tourist route (No. 2637) from Hrušov.
The lands in the Čabraď Nature Reserve are owned by Lesovy SR, the municipality of Čabradský Vrbovok, the Roman Catholic Church, several private individuals and part is unsettled (administered by the Slovak Land Fund). Competences in the field of nature protection are provided by ŠOP SR, the Štiavnické vrchy Protected Landscape Area Administration, also through members of the nature guards.
Monument care is handled by the Regional Institute of Monument Care in Banská Bystrica in cooperation with the Rondel civic association.
Since 1987, many volunteers from the ranks of conservationists, tramps, tourists, or simply enthusiasts have been involved in the practical protection of nature and the rescue of Čabraď Castle. Among them, we can mention several ZO SZOPK, the Tree of Life Club Friends of Hadie údolie and the tramp settlement Hadie údolie.
using texts from the reservation book of PR Čabraď (ŠOP SR, Štiavnické vrchy Protected Landscape Area Administration) and drawings by Ivan Zwach, Adalbert D’Ady Mezei
© AM Studio, 2004
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