Záhumenice

Záhumenice is a nature monument set in the Straňanská Basin, roughly 2 km southeast of the village of Strání, within the White Carpathians Protected Landscape Area in the Uherské Hradiště district of the Czech Republic. The protected core covers 10.1 hectares, with an additional buffer zone of nearly 22 hectares, at elevations ranging from 455 to 554 metres above sea level.

Why is this site protected?

The reserve was first established on 22 July 1982 and reconfirmed under updated legislation on 1 August 1991. It safeguards a remnant of species-rich, flowering meadows typical of the White Carpathians — a habitat type that has largely disappeared elsewhere in the region due to intensive agriculture. Most notably, Záhumenice holds the strongest population in all of Czechia of the critically endangered Pannonian pea (Lathyrus pannonicus), a plant found nowhere else in the country. The reserve also protects the Pyrenean star-of-Bethlehem, subspecies sphaerocarpum.

What can you find here?

The landscape is a mosaic of habitats: warm, dry grasslands sit alongside floodplain vegetation, wetland patches, and temperate oak-hornbeam woodland. This variety supports numerous orchid species, including the marsh helleborine and the fragrant orchid, prized for its distinctive scent.

Among the fauna, the reserve is home to the adder (Vipera berus), the whinchat, and a remarkably rich invertebrate community — 33 documented spider species alongside a range of beetles.

Geologically, the area sits on calcareous siltstones dating to the Paleocene-Cretaceous boundary. The soils are fluvial and pseudogley in character, and two stream channels cross the site, shaping much of its local moisture regime.

How has the site changed over time?

Land management history has directly shaped what visitors see today. The meadows were originally cut once a year, then later converted to pasture. Intensive grazing caused a marked decline in plant diversity, which led to a complete grazing ban from 1994 onward. Regular mowing has since been reintroduced to restore and maintain the characteristic flower-rich meadow structure.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Záhumenice nature monument located? It lies in the Straňanská Basin, about 2 km southeast of the village of Strání, in the Uherské Hradiště district, within the White Carpathians Protected Landscape Area.

How large is the protected area? The core reserve spans 10.1 hectares, and together with its buffer zone the total protected area exceeds 32 hectares.

What is the most valuable species found here? The Pannonian pea (Lathyrus pannonicus) — its population at Záhumenice is the largest in Czechia, and the species occurs nowhere else in the country.

Can you encounter snakes in the reserve? Yes, the adder lives here, one of the few venomous snake species found in the Czech Republic.

Since when has grazing been prohibited? Since 1994, after intensive grazing had led to a decline in the meadows' characteristic species diversity.