Incredipedia: Water

Seven kilometers to the east of Subotica is the village Palić and next to it lies a tranquil body of water that bears the same name. The shallow saltwater lake of aeolian origin is rich in thermal springs. Since the mid-19th century the area around the lake has prospered into a prestigeous health resort and vacation area.

Although the avarage depth of the lake is only 2 m, it has cosy and tended beaches along its 17 km long shores, offering opportunities for various water sports and fishing. A large park embraces the lake and dotted with picturesque villas and hotelsis becoming a popular excursion point for tourists.

Palić can be reached by from Subotica, a nearby urban center close to the border with Hungary, or by train that stops here twice a day and continues on to Szeged. The bus stops in front of the main entrance of the park by the Water Tower (Vodotoranj), the symbol of the resort. Like all the other prominent buildings here, it is the work of Marcel Komor and Deže Jakab from 1912, when Palić was given its present appearance. The main park promenade begins at the Water Tower and leads to the stocky Grand Terrace, a beautiful Art Nouveau building also built 1912. On the other side of the Terrace, next to the lake shore, is the memorial well with an inscription about the founding day of the resort. To the right of stands the fairytale-like wooden Women’s Lido, rich in detail and reminescent of local ethnic motives.The characteristic Villa Lujza is near by, built in Swiss style (deemed to be the most adequate for spas) and the ruined Owl Castle, once home of the famous sportsman Lajoš Vermeš.

Palić also has a ZOO garden (phone: 024/753-075, open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and a large open air stage that hosts the annual Palić International Film Festival in July.

Towards the East along the same road there is another water basin, Lake Ludoško, a wetland reserve rich in waterfowl. There are 214 species of birds that can be seen throughout the year, 40 of which nest here. The lake is also an archeological locality with evidence of early human settlements. There several farmsteadsand fish taverns (salaš and čarda) with culinary specialites and old-style rural accommodation.

Palic, the 7 km long lake and tourist centre used to be an elite resort and spa at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The image of Palic has permanently been changing, improving and modernising, although it avoided the temptation of industrialisation. The two architects, Komor and Jakab, who left a permanent impression on the architecture of the city, also designed remarkable buildings in Palic as well, and these were also built in Hungarian art nouveau and dominated by woodcarvings inspired by folk handicrafts.
The Water Tower, now the symbol of Palic, was built at the beginning of the 20th century as a multipurpose facility: a water tower, gate of the resort and a tram station.
The construction of the Grand Terrace ended in 1911 and at that time it was also used as a multipurpose facility (confectionery, restaurant, while the upstairs premises were intended for entertainment and balls).
Two open terraces embellish the front of the building and they are decorated by magnificently carved parapet. Right in front of the Grand Terrace is the tiniest art nouveau style, special purpose facility, the Musical Pavillion, which, in the spirit of time, used to be a venue for promenade concerts.
A memorial fountain was erected in the honour of the completion of constructions in the city and Palic, which perfectly fit in the newly created atmosphere of the promenade in front of the Grand Terrace and the Musical Pavilion on the lake front.

The Women’s Beach is another magnificent example of art nouveau style buildings.

Women's Beach

The colourful resort houses-villas round up the Palic image. Villa Lujza was built in eclectic style and Bagolyvár (an interesting name for an interesting building: “the owl’s castle) are “Swiss-type” villas, and their roofs are covered with multicoloured plain tiles made by the Zsolnay Manufacture.

In the heart of the Grand Park there is specific facility, the Summer Stage, where the Palic International Film Festival is held every summer.

Palić Film Festival

The Palic Summer Stage hidden in the shade of the Grand Park's hundred year old trees opens its gates to the Palic International Film Festival during the third week of July. This Festival is dedicated to the promotion of the most recent productions in the European filmmaking and is accompanied with various programmes.

source 1 2

If you like this post just click here Posted By crkota with No comments

The Northwest Passage was for centuries the Holy Grail of seaborne exploration, with navigators such as Cabot, Bering and Vancouver trying to open up an Arctic sea lane from Europe to Asia.
Now with global warming, melting sea ice has opened that sea lane, and it has started a round of international wrangling over new trading routes.
The European Space Agency says Arctic sea ice melted to a record low this summer - making the Northwest Passage fully navigable for the first time since monitoring began 30 years ago.
The director of the Swedish Space Agency, Per Tergen, says this will halve the distance of shipping routes between Europe and Asia.
"It's clear that Europe and east Asia will be closer to each other this way," he said.
The European Space Agency says sea ice is down to three million square kilometres - less than the previous record low of four million square kilometres in 2005.
The National Ice and Snow Data Centre in the US has also been monitoring the shrinking of summer sea ice in the Arctic.
The centre's Dr Walt Meier says this summer has seen record low ice coverage.
"This year there's a whole pretty substantial region about the size of the state of California that had been covered by sea ice every single day that we've been monitoring it since the late 1970s until this year. That now has disappeared," he said.
Maritime law expert from the Australian National University, Professor Donald Rothwell, says ships may be travelling through the Northwest Passage as early as next year.
"The evidence seems to suggest that the melting of the Arctic sea ice is occurring so rapidly, that it's inevitable, I think, that commercial interests will begin to look at navigation through the Northwest Passage very soon," he said.
"It will be possible to do so with ice-strengthened vessels, so you don't necessarily need to have an ice-breaker class vessel to do so.
"There are many vessels which are certainly ice-strengthened, and that would suggest that commercially this will be explored, perhaps in the coming season."
But the melting sea-ice is already causing international disputes.
The US and the European Union say the Northwest Passage falls within international waters, but as it winds through the Canadian Arctic archipelago, Canada is claiming sovereignty over the route.
In July, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a plan to patrol the Passage with ships.
Professor Rothwell says a resolution will need to be found.
"There's nothing which would suggest that the Canadians would send out their warships to actually prohibit passage through those waters, but rather I think they would say, well yes, you can pass through our waters, but under very, very strict environmental conditions," he said.
"And those environmental conditions are ones that not all vessels may be able to meet.
"That would ultimately perhaps be the significant bone of contention between the Canadians and its neighbours, who might be seeking to transit though these waters."
And the diplomatic wrangling doesn't just extend to new shipping routes. The melting ice opens the potential for undersea gas and oil explorations in the Arctic.
Russia last month caused a stir when it sent two submarines to plant its national flag on the seabed under the North Pole.
"I think it's inevitable that there's going to be a number of competing claims being made to the seabed in the Arctic Ocean over the coming years," Professor Rothwell said.
"This is a matter, however, that eventually will get partially resolved by the International Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf - that's a UN organisation, which meets in New York.
"And so there's more than likely going to be a diplomatic process which will result in something of a carving up of the seabed of the Arctic Ocean, which could probably take as long as 10 years, until such time as the various claims have been asserted, and the credibility of those claims verified by the UN."