Page 271 - Changing Living Spaces

The Neverlake: Water and Land Management in a Dry and Soilless Place

Figure 7 Reconstruction of the Water Regulation System in the Neverlake’ Area
of Štanjel
Source Processed LiDAr detail by Gregor Kovačič.

er gravel on it in addition to useful sediments, the use prior to regulation
could only have been marginally agricultural. It is much easier to imagine
the area of the ‘old lake’ as a place intended for grazing, mowing and wa-
tering livestock.
With the construction works, which logically combined the existing lo-
cal knowledge and techniques for the construction of dry stone walls and
artificial reservoirs (karst ponds), they achieved two important results at
the same time. In the Karst in general, and in Štanjel in particular, there
was a shortage of cultivated land and water, especially during periods of
drought, which is also evident from Lord Cobenzl’s vivid description. By
regulating the area of the old lake and draining it, Štanjel gained new
high-quality cultivable land on unusually fertile land destined for gar-
dens, with each household in Štanjel getting its own – so it was a form
of hydromelioration. On the other hand, they enriched the quantity of
this resource by providing a permanent and abundant supply of high-
er quality water. The water was no longer swampy, muddy and seasonal,

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