Strunjan Landscape Park

Country: Slovenia.
Established in: 2008.
Surface area: 428.6 ha.
Municipalities: Piran, Izola.
Main features: Strunjan Landascape Park embraces the longest stretch of natural seashore in the Gulf of Trieste, the highest flisch cliff on the Adriatic coast, the northernmost saltpans in the Mediterranean basin, the only marine lagoon in Slovenia and one of the most conserved cultural landscape on Slovenian coast.

Discover the Park!

Park Description:

The Strunjan Peninsula is strewn thick with hidden gems of natural and cultural heritage. A healthy environment, authentic traditions, marvellous views and the diversity of the fauna and flora offer countless possibilities for actively enjoying the outdoor life. The unique alliance between sea, coast and hinterland, and the heritage expressive in the local people make Landscape Park Strunjan a precious piece of the Adriatic coast.

Watching the seascape - Photo by Strunjan Landscape Park

The natural attributes of the Strunjan Peninsula, its Mediterranean climate and the position in particular, have enabled the population of this area to develop traditional economic activities in harmony with nature. Dispersed settlement, terrace farming, an inshore fishery and artisanal salt-making have moulded a cultural landscape characterised by a variety of living and cultural environments. The cultural landscape is one of the most conserved of the landscapes on Slovenian coast.

The Strunjan saltpans are the northernmost and smallest saltpans in the Mediterranean, where salt has been produced according to traditional methods for over 700 years.

Stjuža (from the Italian chiusa, meaning ‘closed’) is the only Slovene marine lagoon. After the construction of a dam, which artificially closed the bay over 400 years ago for the purpouse of fishing, the newly created lagoon remained connected with the sea only through a flow-through channel. Today, the lagoon area is an important part of the Strunjan Stjuža Nature Reserve, falling within the Natura 2000 network, the primary objective of which is to preserve biodiversity.

Landscape Park Strunjan is the biggest marine protected area in Slovenia: it comprises a 200-metre belt of coastal sea (also protected within the Strunjan Nature Reserve) and the entire Bay of Strunjan as far as Pacug. The most distinctive part of Landscape Park Strunjan are its flisch cliffs, up to 80 metres high, which have been, together with their bosky edges and the 200-metre-wide sea belt underneath, declared a nature reserve. This is also the longest stretch of natural seashore in the entire 130 km coastline of the Gulf of Trieste.

The Landscape Park Strunjan has been managed by the homonymous public institute, which promotes activities throughout the park to the extent and in forms that help preserve or improve the condition of the natural environment and cultural landscape, and at the same time provide for the development of the local community.

Cliffs at Strunjan Landscape Park - Photo by Strunjan Landscape Park

CEETO Pilot Action Objectives:

The pilot aims to implement the tourism governance model inside the Strunjan Landscape Park, with the aim to reduce the environmental impacts and pressures coming from tourism-related activities, thus improving nature conservation, and enhance the socio-economic benefits at local level that can come from a sustainable tourism approach. The priority is to understand the carrying capacity of the Protected Areas and improve the sustainable management.