PHOTO: MIRANDA TRKLJA
Prukljan Lake

Second largest lake in Croatia

The Public Institute for Management of Protected and Other Natural Values of Šibenik-Knin County is entrusted with the significant landscape of the Krka River from the Skradin Bridge to its mouth, protected since September 1968. The town of Skradin, Prukljan Lake, and the Channel of St. Joseph that is connected to the Bay of Šibenik are among the valuable entities in this area.

Four kilometres downstream from the town of Skradin you will find the Prukljan Lake, Croatia's second largest lake (11.5 km2). Prukljan, as it exists today, was formed at the beginning of the Holocene Epoch 10,000 years ago, when the sea level rose by a hundred metres. In terms of its morphology and genesis, this locality is a typical ria- submerged river valley, an important habitat of numerous species of mulluscs, amphibians, reptiles, and 153 species of birds recorded around the lake.

The small islet Stipanac stands in Prokljan Lake. During Roman times, this islet was connected to the mainland by an embankment. Today the levy is submerged, but still clearly visible. There is a legend connected to Stipanac, about the cruel lord of the realm called Gavan, who lived on the island. Because of his malice and pride, he ended up on the bottom of the lake along with his castle.

The remains of the Romanesque church of Sv. Stephen are located on the island, and throughout the area of ​​Prukljan there are numerous traces of ancient habitation, ranging from stone fragments from the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Neolithic, to the ancient remains of villae rusticae, a Roman aqueduct and the ruins of an early Christian basilica.