Kamenščak Landscape Park - Hrastovec

The landscape park, covering 851 hectares, was placed on the list of protected areas in 1992. It encompasses part of the hilly terrain of the Slovenske gorice between the Drava and Pesnica valleys, stretching between Završka vas, Korena, Voličina, and Hrastovec. It forms part of the so-called isolated karst, which extends in a band 1–2 kilometers wide from Duplek in the southwest to Hrastovec in the northeast. While the wider area shows signs of more intensive urbanization and agricultural activity, much of the traditional Slovenske gorice cultural landscape has been preserved. This includes extensive meadows, tall-trunk hay orchards, vineyards, forested northern slopes, and fields, pastures, and grasslands in the valley floors. Such a mosaic provides habitats for a great variety of rare butterfly and bird species. The park also contains several above- and below-ground karst features, which are otherwise rare in northeastern Slovenia. The most common are sinkholes and karst springs, locally called izvirki or zvrečine. In Voličina, one can find a karst cave and an inclined or stepped shaft, though these geomorphological curiosities are not yet accessible to visitors. A further characteristic of the park is the presence of lithothamnian limestone, found in the area of Strma gora. In the past, limestone from local quarries was used as building material.