Croatia · Central Croatia

Lake Varaždin

Directions

Varaždinsko jezero

Lake Varaždin is a reservoir on the Drava by the city of Varaždin, shared between Varaždin and Međimurje counties. The river enters it near the city and leaves it at the dam by the village of Šemovec. In summer it is a popular place for angling, water sports and days by the water, and log cabins line its shores near Varaždin and Gornji Kuršanec.

How it formed

The reservoir was made for the Čakovec hydroelectric plant, built in 1982. It is the middle one of the three Drava reservoirs in Croatia, between the smaller Lake Ormož upstream and the larger Lake Dubrava downstream, and together with their power plants they are run as one group by the power company HEP.

Nature

The Drava here is protected as the Mura-Drava Regional Park, part of the Natura 2000 network and of the UNESCO Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve, and the lake is among the best birdwatching sites in the county. In winter the broad, still water shelters greylag and white-fronted geese, many kinds of duck and large flocks of coot, while goosanders and cormorants keep to the faster river. Spring, above all May and June, is the time for the breeding birds along the river.

Visit

Getting there

Nearest settlement: Gornji Kuršanec

Swimming

Allowed

Fishing

Allowed

Tips

The lake is easy to reach from Varaždin, and the flat embankments along the Drava make good walking and cycling country; Međimurje’s lowland cycle routes follow the river banks through the regional park.

When watching birds, keep far enough away that flocks on the water stay put, and keep off the river’s gravel bars in late spring and early summer, when terns and little ringed plovers nest on them. A telescope helps on the open water.