Cigoc

Cigoc is a single street of traditional oak houses in the Lonjsko Polje floodplain, and in 1994 it was declared the first European Stork Village - white storks nest on the chimneys and platforms of most of the houses, sometimes more than one pair on a roof, and in some years the stork population has approached or matched the human one. The reason is the flooding: the Sava spreads across these meadows each spring, and the wet grassland produces the frogs, insects and small mammals that storks need in quantity, a habitat that has been drained almost everywhere else in Europe. The birds arrive in spring and leave in August.

The main sights

• Storks nesting on houses - often several pairs along one street.
• Europe's first stork village - designated in 1994.
• Traditional oak houses - the local building type, still standing.
• A floodplain that still floods - the reason the birds are here.

When to go

April to August, while the storks are present; they leave for Africa in August. Half a day.

Practical notes

Outside the season the nests are empty and there is little to see. The village is tiny with minimal services. Roads through the park can flood. Mosquitoes are heavy in summer evenings.

Nearby

Krapje is along the same road; Sisak is north-west.

Key facts