3. Misterion: Natural heritage

The Semič Local Museum- an outstanding presentation of the Karst world amd The Vrlovka Cave

The Semič Local Museum offers an insight into the most comprehensive presentation of the Karst world in the southeastern Slovenia region. It is home to the local museum collection, the centre of Nature of Bela Krajina, an interesting viticulture collection, the bridal room and the TIC Semič.

On the ground floor of the museum is a local museum collection that reveals visitors the history of Semič and surrounding places, and the lives of their inhabitants from prehistoric times to the end of World War II.

In the cellar is a viticulture collection restored in period style and separated from the adjacent tasting area by a nearly invisible glass wall. The interior decoration is that of a former Bela Krajina zidanica ("vineyard cottage") still made of wood.

Nature Centre of Bela Krajina, the natural science collection on the ground floor presents rich flora and fauna of Bela krajina and its protected nature areas.

The collections are presented with regard to modern museum standards, interactive, educational, popular and tailored for vulnerable groups. Bela Krajina is a hot point of biodiversity in Slovenia – a country that is the richest in Europe according to the vast variety of living creatures.

In addition to the black human fish, the KONGERIJA shell (Congeria Jalzici) is specifically presented, the only true cave shell in the world. She's been through over 50 million years. To be easier to imagine, that was about the time the dinosaurs were extinct. It was assumed the cave shell was extinct.

In the spring of the river Krupa, cave shells were discovered in 1970, while the first live animals were discovered by divers in Spring of Cave Shells in 2010. This is the only site in Slovenia! What's more, a rare country in Europe can be praised to have cave shell Congeria Jalzici on a large on the list of the cave animals!

- Learning garden of dr. Derganc is located in the immediate vicinity.

It is exposed to five areas: grassland orchards (high-white trees that give the most beautiful appearance of cultural landscapes and countryside, preserve the biodiversity and balance of living creatures in nature, preserve indigenous and older varieties, offer a varied range of flavors); other fruit species (with over 72 plants of 18 different species, berries have a special place in the garden); medicinal herbs (the oldest type of medicinal products); viticulture (among cultural plants people from Bela Krajina most appreciated vines); useful animals in the fruit garden (the Learning Garden also notes the importance of biodiversity, as they find shelter and food for many living organisms in the canopy of fruit trees).

- Wild creek (Divji potok) – the hidden pearl of nature: a beautiful walk along the very diverse and picturesque stream, full of waterfalls, pools, and rapids on the dominant dolomite stone base. The stream flows most of its flow through the forest. After about 3.5 km of flow with a torrential character, it joins Črmošnjičica. A unique feature of the Wild Creek is the formation of tufa rock, a sedimentary rock that is eroded to form water rich in calcium carbonate. It is deposited on moss and vegetation and creates rapids, waterfalls and other obstacles in the riverbed. Because of the erosion of tufa, the thresholds and waterfalls are constantly changing or growing, and all the higher falls have a greater power to create pools. The Wild Creek with its surroundings is an important habitat for plant and animal species tied to water. Among the most characteristic are the freshwater crayfish and the ordinary salamander.

The creek is also home to a dipper and a grey wagtail, and in the canopy of trees, we can find woodpeckers and numerous singing birds. The predominant deciduous are beech trees and white hornbeam. In the forest undergrowth, thrive many herbal species such as wild garlic, and Marsh-marigold. You can explore the Wild Creek with the fund and educational mobile guide CŠOD MISIJA for outdoor self-learning.

- Vrlovka Cave: the geomorphological monument of Nature, formerly the Neolithic shrine, is now an important archaeological site in which eight types of bats reside. Aquatika ia a unique freshwater Aquarium on the coast of the Korana River in Karlovac. The world of fish (over 1000 species), crabs, vegetation, which is shown through the stream of the river from the mountain spring to the outflow into the lowland.
https://aquariumkarlovac.com/en/