Verd clay-pit lakes (Vrhnika)
Clay digging for the former brickworks at Verd near Vrhnika left a series of pits that filled with water and became lakes and ponds totalling several dozen hectares, popular with anglers, bathers, boaters and, in winter, skaters. The two largest connected lakes are about 700 m long and up to 7 m deep, on a bare, uneven clay bottom. Visibility is poor and the deeper water is colder, so most life – freshwater mussels and various fish – is in the shallows among the remains of drowned trees. The sheet also mentions many sunken boats and other rubbish.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Central & East Slovenia (Ljubljana area, Velenje)
- Depth: 0–7 m
- Level: beginner
- Current: low
- Type: bay
- Coordinates: 45.97041, 14.30768
- Highlights: flooded former brickworks clay pits, many freshwater mussels, fish among drowned trees, numerous sunken boats, wild ducks
- Unverified: Unverified: Verd lies on the western edge of the Ljubljansko barje (Ljubljana Marsh); we could not confirm from the boundary maps whether the clay-pit lakes are inside Ljubljansko barje Landscape Park. If they are, the park decree (Uredba o Krajinskem parku Ljubljansko barje, consolidated 2024) restricts sports and recreation outside areas designated in the management plan (Art. 10(2)(20)); it contains no explicit diving ban. The lakes are also used by anglers, and their owner's or angling club's rules are unknown. Check with the park management or locally.
- Tips: In Vrhnika turn east towards Bistra/Borovnica, cross the Ljubljanica, head south to Verd and under the motorway viaduct, then turn left (north) on the narrow road past the old brickworks buildings to the gravel car park, where a barrier blocks the way on. Plan the dive carefully: visibility is poor, and one way along the two big lakes takes over an hour. Snags from drowned trees and lost fishing hooks and line are a real nuisance – carry a knife or cutter, compass and torch. Summer surface water reaches 30 °C, about 15 °C deeper; the lakes can freeze in winter. The sheet dates from 2013.