Nature Park Vransko Lake, Nature reserve near Pakostane, Croatia

Vransko Lake Nature Park covers 57 km², with the lake itself taking up 30.16 km². The lake is a karst depression filled with slightly brackish water, 13.6 km long and 1.4 to 3.4 km wide, lying 2 m above sea level while its bottom sits 4 m below it. A limestone ridge 800 to 2,500 m wide separates it from the Adriatic, and the northwest shore holds a large reed bed.

A canal to the sea, finished in 1770, lowered the lake by about three metres and drained the northern marsh, whose land incomers used as pasture. The lake belonged to a crown estate of Croatian kings, held by the Templars in the 12th century and later by the Knights of Malta. Venice took over in 1409; in 1647 its troops destroyed the Templar castle and the caravanserai built beside it by Jussuf-Mašković Pasha of Vrana. The northwestern lake was declared an ornithological reserve in 1983, the nature park followed on 21 July 1999, and Ramsar listing came in 2013.

The lake takes its name from Vrana, the former crown estate of Croatian kings to which it belonged. In the 12th century the estate passed to the Knights Templar and later to the Knights Hospitaller. Jussuf-Mašković Pasha, born in Vrana, built a caravanserai beside the Templar castle; both were destroyed by the Venetians in 1647. Today the park is known for sport fishing, especially for carp and eel.

Cycling routes let you move through the landscape at an easy pace while exploring different parts of the area. Spring and autumn offer the best conditions for watching migratory birds as they pass through during their journeys.

The water level drops below sea level, creating an unusual setting where freshwater and saltwater plants grow side by side. This rare combination produces an exceptional range of different habitats packed into one relatively small space.