Man, cattle and sink-hole ponds

A look into the past of water dikes in the Karst

Abstract

The contribution deals with the problematic of a specific type of water dykes – kal (sink-hole ponds) in the Karst through a longer time perspective. Sink-hole ponds as an element of the Karst cultural landscape have through long periods of history preserved their almost unchanged image and purpose. The beginning of purpose collection of water is in the Karst usually placed in the time of stable settlement, animal husbandry and building of kaštelir(s) (small castles, forts). All turbulent periods that followed to the end of the 19^th century were leaving the sink-hole ponds in almost complete isolation. In the village community sphere the sink-hole ponds as silent observers of events did not change until the Austrian public authority's interference in regulating water supplies. In order to repair the existing and build new infrastructure the authorities demanded from village communities precise registers of water supplies. Descriptions, which illustratively demonstrate the significance of sink-hole ponds, can tell us a lot about the stress because of deficiency of water. After World War II, sink-hole ponds became overgrown; recently, the reconstruction of those significant elements of the Karst cultural landscape began.