In the vicinity of Sluňákov, an outdoor exhibition of Litovel Pomoraví has been established

Miloš Fekar, Forest Temple

Horka nad Moravou (Olomouc Region) - The nature trail consisting of artistically conceived structures set in the wetlands of the Litovelsko Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area was created around the Sluňákov Center for Ecological Activities in Horka nad Moravou in the Olomouc Region. The first visitors can set off on the natural circuit around Sluňákov on Saturday. The project of the House of Nature Litovelsko Pomoraví cost 63 million crowns, most of which was covered by a European Union grant.
    An external exhibition comprising seven stops created by artists has been built around the low-energy house Sluňákov on an area of 15 hectares. The trail includes a garden of animals and plants of Litovelsko Pomoraví, a forest temple made of oak columns, a magical forest with play elements, an artificial landscape formation called the Dream Sun Mountain, and a system of oak bridges.
    "The places are designed to enhance people's feeling of the outdoor landscape while simultaneously allowing them to absorb it. The artworks also serve as viewpoints, and inside there are meditative spaces where time seems to stand still and people can think undisturbed," said Michal Bartoš, director of Sluňákov, to ČTK.
    Part of the House of Nature includes the Šargoun information center, which is the gateway to the Litovelsko Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area from the direction of Litovel. The former gamekeeper's lodge site has been transformed into a garden with a barn, and a new low-energy building has been constructed featuring an exhibition on beekeeping. The building serves as an information center where visitors can gain basic information about Litovelsko Pomoraví and traditional farming in the landscape through games and 3D technology. An educational trail and replicas of historical beehives will be located in the garden with landscape varieties of fruit trees.
    "The main goal and mission of the House of Nature Litovelsko Pomoraví is to cultivate the relationship between humans and nature so that they themselves feel the need to protect and care for it," noted Michal Servus from the Czech Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape, and head of the Administration of the Litovelsko Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area.
    The area around Sluňákov was a waterlogged field even after 1989, which no one wanted to farm. Gradually, through the efforts of people from Sluňákov, a wetland with a floodplain forest, river meadows, and both standing and flowing waters was created here.
    Similar houses of nature already exist in Poodří, Slavkov Forest, and Třeboň. The Czech Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape is preparing to build more. "Following the example of other European countries, we want to build a network of visitor centers in selected protected areas. The brand of the protected landscape area attracts tourists who help promote the sustainable development of local communities. Houses of nature, as well as educational trails and birdwatching towers, will help visitors get to know nature, which is one of the prerequisites for its better protection," said František Pelc, director of the Czech Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape, to reporters.