Serbia · Vojvodina

Lake Palić

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Palicsi-tó · Палићко језеро · Palićko jezero

Lake Palić is a shallow lake close to Subotica in northern Serbia. It has been a spa and a holiday place since the nineteenth century, and the lakeshore is lined with parks and elegant buildings from that time. The lake is very shallow and salty, and together with its surroundings it forms a nature park.

How it formed

Contrary to a popular belief, Palić is not a remnant of the Pannonian Sea. Studies suggest that it and nearby Lake Ludoš formed early in the Holocene, when dust blown from the glaciers settled into the loess landscape of the Pannonian plain and rain filled the shallow hollows. The water regime has always been unstable, and in history the lake repeatedly dried up and returned.

It is a salty lake, which helped the myth that it was left by the sea, and it is very shallow, with a long and narrow shape.

History

Local legend says that the lake was made by the tears of a shepherd called Pavle, who lost a lamb with a golden fleece; the name is said to come from him. The first written mention dates from 1462, when King Matthias Corvinus gave the lake to his mother.

Palić became a spa in the 1840s. A park was laid out in the English style, followed by baths, hotels and an inn, and the railway reached the lake in 1869 and a tram line in 1897. The present look of the town and the spa was designed in the 1910s by architects including Marcell Komor, and the historic buildings are now protected as cultural monuments.

An Art Nouveau lakeside

Palić is about 8 km from Subotica, and its early 20th-century architecture includes the Water Tower (once the gate to the spa), the Great Terrace, the Music Pavilion and the Women's Beach, built in 1912. A promenade leads from the Water Tower through the Great Terrace to the lake and ends at the Memorial Fountain.

Nature

The lake and its shore are a protected nature park. The water is salty and the mud was long regarded as healing, which is why the spa developed here. Because the lake is so shallow, its water has repeatedly disappeared and returned through its history.

Birds, oaks and Ludaš

The bird islands are home to many nesting birds, including the only place in Serbia where black-headed gulls breed. The park has 31 protected oak trees, and otters and bats are also protected here. Nearby Lake Ludaš is better known to nature lovers, mainly for its birds, and it is joined to Palić by a canal. Pollution from Ludaš flows through the canal, which is one reason Palić's water quality has been a problem.

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Photo: Laslovarga · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Swimming

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Tips

The town of Palić lies on the north shore. Walk the Great Park and the promenade along the lake, and look for the historic buildings: the water tower with its gate, the music pavilion and the old hotels. The old beaches on the east and west shores keep the names of the days when men and women bathed separately, and the cape between them is called Ljubavni Rt (Love Cape).

Swimming

Swimming is not forbidden, but the water is not safe. It is in the fifth and lowest quality class, and in summer blue-green algae release toxins into it, which, along with the high pH, can irritate the skin, eyes and airways. Public health experts in Subotica advise against bathing. Anyone who goes in does so at their own risk and should shower straight afterwards.

Things to do

Hire a bike and ride to Subotica to see its architecture. Sit on the shore, take children fishing, or look for herons and gulls with your coffee. The lake hosts an international film festival.