Kapitovac pond – kalić

Kalić is the name for a pond created in a depression in the ground whose bottom is covered with an impermeable layer of loam. Kalići were created in natural karst depressions but were additionally shaped by human hands. The bottom of a kalić became water impermeable as a result of the joint actions of nature, people and livestock. People would compact the loam, while livestock would compress the bottom with their hooves while drinking water. A kalić needed maintenance in order for the water to remain clean. People would fence it off with stones, make an access path, and place a stone called a brentenjak on which they would put a brenta – a container for carrying water. Their significance is reflected in the local belief that they were places where fairies would gather and bathe at night.

There are many kalić ponds in the area of the Municipality of Viškovo. Every village had at least one of them (some even two). Some were so large that children learned to swim in them. The most famous one is Kapitovac kalić, located in the deepest sinkhole in Viškovo.

Kalić Kapitovac

One of the deepest and largest depressions in Halubje is located south of the village of Kapiti. The depression was named Kapitov Dol, and the kalić in it is called Kapitovac.

Kapitovac pond has an elliptical shape and an area of approximately 300 m². Thanks to its location and size, it was an inexhaustible source of water, which is why during the heat of summer people from distant villages would come here. They carried the water from the kalić on their backs in a wooden container called brenta. Apart from water, they would bring home stories and information about what had happened in the neighbouring village. This was a gathering place, a source that not only provided water for the thirsty body but also the venue for the social life of the local people.

The access path leads through small plots of land surrounded by dry stone walls to a deep sinkhole. The steep trail goes down the thirty-metre-deep sinkhole to a walled pond overgrown with deciduous trees at the bottom. We recommend hikers and cyclists take a break during their tours and visit this rest area to enjoy its wonderful unspoilt nature and peace and quiet.