February 29, 2020 – Last year, we wrote about the attempts by the members of civil societies to save the Črnomerec creek from building a road over it, and create a green oasis in the city around it.
The portion of the creek which is in danger of being destroyed is south of the Ilica street and all the way down to the Jarun Lake. Today, we take you on a walk along the northern portion of the creek, north of Ilica, and towards the Medvednica hill.
On a graphic posted below (which I found on Spasimo potok Črnomerec FB page), you can see the wonderful presentation of the creek, from its spring in Medvednica (which is at the elevation of 776 meters), to where it flows into the Sava River – as the only remaining creek in Zagreb which goes into the river ‘openly’. The part where our walk took place is somewhere in the center of this graphic, and it starts at the point where the creek meets the Črnomerec street, close to a popular pub and grill place, Paulaner bar.
You’ll have no problem finding where you need to go, just follow the many people who enjoy walking their dogs in the green oasis very near the centre of the city (it’s less than two kilometres from Ilica). You’ll notice that the creek bed is in quite a good shape at the beginning of your walk, with several concrete falls and a wide footpath (pedestrian only). The forest is on your right as you go towards Medvednica, but these days you can just see the beginning of the spring blooms, with crocuses and other flowers appearing in the grass.
After a while, a kilometre or so, you’ll realize that there’s something going on, that some type of reconstruction of the Črnomerec creek is in progress. And you’ll be right, as the comprehensive project of the reconstruction of the creekbed of the upper part of the creek has been underway for a while now. It might make your shoes a bit muddy, but it’s possible to pass the machinery and see for yourself what they’re trying to accomplish.
Parts of the bed are being fortified to prevent further water damage (hopefully that will not be fully done in concrete, as the concrete bed is horrible for the wildlife of the creek itself), what appears to be another dam is being created at a location where one didn’t exist before, trees are being taken down that grew too close (or within) the creek.
Hopefully, the work on the Črnomerec creek will be finished soon, and we’ll have our green oasis of the western part of the town back, in even better shape than it was before, for all to enjoy: people walking their pets, joggers, mountain-bikers and everyone who enjoys getting away from the concrete of the city for a while.
