Lobnica Valley

Liquid gem of Ruše forests

Lobnica Valley

The Lobnica stream is one of the larger streams found on Pohorje. It is characteristically fairly steep, as it descends more than 1000 m from the source to the mouth of the Drava.

Lobnica originates on the marshy, eastern Pohorje plateau, near Tiho Jezero (Falski Ribnik), below Bajgoto’s peak. The larger tributaries in the upper reaches are the Črnava, Piklerica, and Kraljiščica, which flow before Bajgot, after which the Lobnica flows into the forest reserve (Šumik virgin forest). Up to Treh žebljev, its steepness is small and meanders. There is a slightly larger steep from Treh žebljev to Bajgot, but it increases a lot in the area where it flows through the forest. There, it forms numerous rapids and waterfalls, as well as Veliki and Mali Šumik Waterfalls. From the springs to the lower border of the primaeval forest, the Lobnica flows along tonalite, and in the lower reaches it crosses layers of gneiss, amphibolite, and schists. Lobnica flows into the plain in a narrow valley near Smolnik and after a few kilometres flows into the Drava.

Mills and sawmills operated on Lobnica, all of which, except for Marot's sawmill, have now long been abandoned.

In order to bring wood into the valley, the longest Pohorje water log flume ran along the Lobnica valley, 17 km long. In the literature, the log flume near Lobnica is also referred to as “Ruše Log Flume” or “water brook on Smolnik near Ruše.” It was built along the Lobnica stream with a length of 5,728 m already in 1874. A few years later, its extension was built from Bajgot via the Šumik waterfall, where one branch leads to Lahova Zaga and the other to Piklerica. It was built in 1901 with a total length of 11,664 m. It can be seen from older sources that the last length with all branches was 16,000 m. It was created on the initiative of the Ruše glassmaker Benedikt Vivat and served the needs of glassmakers for many years.

(Olga Malec)
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