Golovec is a forested hill southeast of the center of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Its highest peak is Mazovnik (450 m); other peaks include the slightly lower Črni hrib (440/442 m), Luknje (431/438 m), Golovec (413 m), Zeleni hrib (354 m), Hruševski hrib (408 m), and Bizoviški hrib (363 m).
Golovec represents a continuation of Rožnik and Grajski grič, and is an integral part of the Lithic anticline or Sava Hills, which continues in the ridge to the east with the village of Orle or Hrastovec (408 m) south of it, Molnik (582 m) and Pugled (615 m), while further north lie Dobrunjski hrib (429 m), Breznik (384 m) and Sveti Urh (342 m) and Zadvorski hrib (401 m) and in the valley the smaller but relatively steep hill Marenček (415 m).
Golovec covers 650 hectares, of which 635 (or 675) are covered by forest (red pine and spruce, with beech in the central part),BARBER, Polona, 2016, Pedološke, mineralne in geokemične lastnosti tal na paleozojskem kremenovem peščenjaku iz okolice Ljubljane : diplomsko delo [na spletu]. 2016. [P. Barber]. [Retrieved 15 March 2021]. Retrieved https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=91333&lang=slv which stretches from Gruber Canal to the city, marked by the motorway ring around Ljubljana.ŽIŽEK, Laura, 2010, Odnos javnosti do gozdov v mestih na primerih Rožnika in Golovca v Ljubljani : diplomsko delo - univerzitetni študij [na spletu]. Univerza v Ljubljani, Biotehniška fakulteta . [Retrieved 13 March 2021]. Retrieved https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?id=127867&lang=slv It is protected as a special purpose forest area. It is considered a recreational and walking area for the people of Ljubljana - the Golovec City Forest, but it has not been declared a landscape park. In the flat part of the Ljubljana polje, there are few forests due to urbanization and agriculture.Poročilo projektne naloge"Izdelava ocene stanja gozdnih tal v mestni občini Ljubljana«. str. 9 November 2009. Gozdarski inštitut Slovenije. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
The Ljubljana Golovec District is named after the hill. The two-tube, three-lane highway Tunnel Golovec, opened in 1999, runs through it.
Golovec is home to the Golovec Astronomical and Geophysical Observatory (AGO), which was expanded in 1959.
Geological and geographical features The parent rock of Golovec consists of sandstone, shale and marl, and very little limestone (5%). On this basis, brown soils have developed, which are strongly acidic (pH of between 4 and 5), which is influenced not only by the substrate but also by the decomposition of conifers.
Several brooks originate on it. The largest, the Bizoviški and Dolgi potok, flow into the Ljubljanica. On Rakovnik there are the Veliki bajer and Mali bajer.
Golovec, together with Rožnik, forms the Ljubljana Gate. Together with the Castle Hill (both part of the Sava Hills) and the Polhov Gradec Hills, it divides the vast plain into the Ljubljana polje and the Ljubljana Marsh.Vozlišče Slovenije. str. 241. Atlas Slovenije. Založba Mladinska knjiga in Geodetski zavod Slovenije. 1992. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
Crosswinds from Golovec, which occur especially at night, are directed towards lower elevations and are important for the renewal of air in the city.BERČIČ, Katja, 2003, Obrambnogeografsko vrednotenje spodnjega dela Ljubljanske kotline : diplomsko delo [na spletu]. Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za družbene vede. [Retrieved 14 March 2021]. Retrieved http://dk.fdv.uni-lj.si/dela/Bercic-Katja.PDF
Water supply and sewage
In the 3rd century AD, an aqueduct was laid from Golovec, supplying the suburb of Emona at the foot of the Castle Hill.VODA V RIMSKI EMONI. vokasnaga.si. Retrieved 14 March 2021. In 2013, JP Vodovod-Kanalizacija renovated the aqueduct and sewerage system along the Trail of Remembrance and Comradeship.
Military history and military features The French army fortified the Castle Hill and Golovec in 1808. In a letter from December of that year, Sigmund Zois reported that the area was full of bastions, redoubts, artillery batteries and storerooms.Ljubljana v napoleonskih vojnah. str. 5. Slovenec: političen list za Slovenski narod (14-08-1942), letnik 70, številka 186a. . Retrieved 13 March 2021. In 1813, the Austrians, while attacking the French from Golovec, are said to have fired on Ljubljana Castle and knocked down the whistle tower, which stood at the extreme southern corner of the bastion below the palace. According to other, equally plausible explanations, it was knocked down by the French during the occupation of the castle or during its conversion into a barracks and military hospital. During World War II, in February 1942, barbed wire was also laid across Golovec, which is commemorated by the Trail of Remembrance and Comradeship.Gašper Uršič in Aljaž Vesel. Žice ni več, spomini so ostali . Dnevnikov Objektiv. 7 May 2016. files.dnevnik.si. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
Golovec is a Category IV land, impassable to armour and allows the movement of armoured units only via existing communications.
In the beech and alder forest, camouflage conditions are favorable from April to November, but otherwise visibility and observation possibilities are partially increased, and thus the possibility of controlling the area from the air and the ground. Vehicle movements are prohibited outside the existing routes. The distances between the crowns are not greater than their diameters, in some places they intertwine. In a multilayer forest, the crowns form two or more height layers, which makes visibility and passage difficult, including for infantry. In a single-layer forest, the tree crowns are of the same height. Camouflage conditions are worse than in a multilayer forest, but the conditions for passage and visibility are better.
Animals Golovec was one of the hunting grounds for jays, crows, jackdaws, ravens, magpies and goshawks, which died out after 1941. During the Congress of Laibach in 1821 in Ljubljana, Emperor Francis I went to Golovec to hunt birds.Holz, Eva. POTOVANJE PO SLOVENSKIH DEŽELAH V ČASU OD PROPADA ILIRSKIH PROVINC DO UVEDBE ŽELEZNICE, KO ŠE NISO IZUMILI TURIZMA. str. 56. Razvoj turizma v Sloveniji: Zbornik referatov. [uredila Franc Rozman, Žarko Lazarevič]. - Ljubljana : Zveza zgodovinskih društev Slovenije, 1996. dostopno na https://www.sistory.si/cdn/publikacije/31001-32000/31450/razvoj_turizma_v_Sloveniji.pdf. Retrieved 16 March 2021. In 1925, the Ljubljana city hunting ground included a significant part of Golovec.Lov ljubljanske mestne občine. str. 4. Slovenec: političen list za Slovenski narod (13-05-1925), letnik 53, številka 106. . Retrieved 13 March 2021.
The capercaillie population became extinct at the beginning of the 20th century, while the hazel grouse survived until the end of the 20th century. The sparrowhawk also breeds on Golovec, where there has already been an invasion by the red crossbill.Ptice Ljubljane in okolice. Davorin Tome, Al Vrezec, Dejan Bordjan. Mestna občina Ljubljana, Oddelek za varstvo okolja, Zarnikova 3, Ljubljana 2013. (slovenščina in angleščina). dostopno na https://www.ljubljana.si/assets/Uploads/Ptice-Ljubljane.pdf. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
Animals have always lived on Golovec, and the area attracts them because their habitat outside the cities is shrinking, while there is plenty of food in the cities. Their access is not restricted by the Ljubljana Ring Road, as, for example, the Tunnel Golovec at the Malence junction is quite wide. In 2007, bears were observed on Golovec, which very rarely enter the forests inside the ring road. In 2008, around 30 wild boars lived permanently on Golovec (seven leading sows with 15 cubs and at least one group of wild boars, animals in their second year of life), which is a large number considering the recreational activities and the surrounding population. According to hunters, this species, along with carrion crows and jays, is a problem because it causes damage and accidents. According to a 2004 decree, hunting was not allowed within the ring road. Today, shooting is permitted on Golovec only to a certain extent and under special conditions, namely wild boar due to damage, roe deer due to being run over, and foxes due to intrusions into chicken coops. Golovec is also home to badgers.
Vegetation
Golovec is one of the so-called green wedges of Ljubljana, which are the basic building blocks of the green system and bearers of a whole range of ecological, social and aesthetic functions in the city. Its forests protect drinking water, protect against floods by retaining water and reduce soil erosion on steep slopes.
On the slope near the settlement of Bizovik, along the Bizovik stream, a red pine and blueberry association dominates (red pine, Norway spruce, sweet chestnut, sessile oak, silver birch), a mixed forest of mostly medium growth (diameter of trunk: 20–30 cm, height 18–20 cm), which is dense, multi-layered on the lower slopes, but otherwise mostly single-layered.
Elsewhere, the beech and hornbeam forest (beech, sessile oak, sweet chestnut, Norway spruce, red pine, silver fir, silver birch) dominates, a mixed forest of mostly medium growth (diameter of trunk: 20–40 cm, height 18–25 cm), which is dense, multi-layered on the lower slopes, but otherwise mostly single-layered.
In the 2014 icefall, the forests in Golovec were slightly less damaged than those in Tivoli, Šišenski hrib and Castle Hill. In the part that was particularly damaged, a spectacular logging operation was carried out, opening up a view of the Ljubljana Marshes and the Mount Krim to visitors.
Afforestation and calls for protection