Plitvice Lakes are the oldest and largest national park in the Republic of Croatia. With its exceptional natural beauty, this area has always attracted nature lovers, so it already is Proclaimed April 8, 1949 the first national park in Croatia.
The process of travertine, which forms travertine barriers and creates lakes, represents a unique universal value due to which Plitvice Lakes received international recognition on October 26, 1979, by enrolling in UNESCO World Heritage List.
For the seventieth anniversary of the declaration of Plitvice Lakes as a National Park and 40 years since it was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the 70 stories about its values and curiosities.
Photo: Plitvice Lakes National Park
Legend has it: if it were not for the Black Queen, there would be neither the Black nor the White River; and without these rivers, there would be no Plitvice Lakes…
///Barbara Celjska – The Black Queen
The Black Queen and Plitvice Lakes
In ancient times it was over these parts there was a terrible drought. Trees were falling from thirst, herds were dying, the ground was turning to dust, and stones were crackling under the bright rays of the sun. The afflicted people sought salvation in the hidden depths of the cold caves, praying to the gods and invoking rain. One day, a voice from the heavens addressed the people:
- Gather in the early morning at the Spring of Life where you have quenched your thirst and fed your life. In that place, express everything that is threatening in your soul. Speak with dignity and give in words the measure of the heart and the measure of truth. If you do so, I will be with you.
Photo: Plitvice Lakes National Park
The elders knew it was the voice of the Black Queen which appeared to the people when they were in trouble and when evil fell on the powerless. They thought about the evil that befell them, but also about their pettiness in times of abundance: how they became estranged from each other and kept their hearts away from misfortune and loved ones. And because of that, he was looking forward to a new morning with fear and anxiety. As soon as the first singers sang, everyone went to the Spring of Life. They sat around a dried-up spring, and the old man of the tribe said to them:
- The Black Queen will listen to you and will understand from your words whether you are telling the truth, or with the desire to deceive her. Don’t look for her with a look, because goodness and love cannot be seen. Discover it in yourself to recognize it.
Photo: Plitvice Lakes National Park
Tears of the Black Queen
And so the people began to talk in turn about what was threatening in their souls, except for one, the richest and most selfish man in the tribe. He was wicked and haughty, deaf to another's trouble. Only he did not want to repent, but began to condemn others. When the elder of the tribe heard this, he became angry and drove him out of the tribe, forever. As soon as he did that, a rainbow appeared above Vrelo and people heard a familiar voice. They threw themselves on their drought-punished land, out of joy, out of fear, out of hope ... The Black Queen said to them:
- This is your country and your homeland, the only one you have. And this kind of landless and hard, ugly and barren, is the most beautiful and richest country for you. Love her! I am your daughter and I am not a miracle from heaven. I am your love and hope. I heard you and recognized your hearts. You are free from the evil of man from your tribe. You who spoke - you spoke the truth. That is also my truth. Disperse to your houses, and the rain will come again on the thirsty fields and forests, and you will again have the most beautiful land for you. And others will come to admire her. My tears will create water: right eye for a black spring Black rivers, and from the left there will be a white spring for the water of the White River.
Photo: Plitvice Lakes National Park
In that, the rainbow disappeared, and two clouds appeared on the horizon above Vrelo: one dark, the other white. The first drops of rain kissed the dry ground. Everyone stood with their arms outstretched to the sky, as if enchanted, listening to the birth of the source of the Black River. Since then, the water has flowed continuously and incessantly, bubbling in a series of sixteen beautiful lakes.
… And this event was retold for a long time, adorned with fictional stories about the Black Queen's golden chariot, her golden hair, fairies, the girls who accompanied her… But only the wise knew that the Black Queen could only be recognized by the goodness of her soul.
If you are interested in more stories, visit Plitvice Lakes and find out all the stories.
Source and photo: National park Plitvice Lakes
