The Váh River’s By-pass Artery - Piešťany’s Natural Jewel
The by-pass artery, otherwise known as the Dead or Warm artery, runs along the eastern border of the Spa Island and the town of Piešťany. It is located on the left side of the Vah River, stretching from the Upper spillway dam all the way to the County Bridge. The by-passartery's most important natural resource are its thermal springs and sulphuric mud. These are the two pillars upon which the Piešťany Spa was founded and built. Despite the daily bustle which reigns along the by-pass artery such as people taking walks, riding bikes, and, insome places, even driving cars, many interesting plants and animal species still call this ecosystem home. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, molluscs, spiders, insects, and many other organisms all can be found living here. The still waters are rich in fish (carp, perch, bream, roach, crucian carp, chub, tench, as well as catfish). Here we can also find dense, overgrown yellow water lilies, hear frogs croaking in the mud along the river bank and see snakes, turtles, water birds (swans, herons, great egrets, seagulls, sea swallows, kingfi shers, redshanks, coots, moor-hens, and ducks), muskrats, and snails moving along the grassy banks, as well as dragonflies and butterflies. Here people can just relax and commune with nature.
The Yellow Water-Lily species
The Large Copper Butterfly
The White-Legged Damselfly
The Grass Snake
The Green Frog
The Red-eared Slider
The Mute Swan
The Little Egret
The Grey Heron
The Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos) comes from the Anatidae family, the Anseriformes order. The male is brightly coloured with a green head and yellow bill while the female is brown with a dark grey to almost brown bill. They are abundant in the by-pass artery where they nest along the river bank in the grass or bushes.
The Great Egret
The Common Moorhen
Text and photo: Roman Tibenský