Fig 1. Vrutki Spring near Opatija (foto: M. Randić)

The small Vrutki Spring nestles on the right side of the bed of a torrential stream that flows through a shaded, woody ravine during heavy rainfall. The waters of the spring emerge in several places, up through underground fissures in carbonate rocks, where tectonic forces have likely caused a fault to appear. The most abundant branch of the underground watercourse fills a small basin carved into the bedrock. When the basin is full, the water flows out of it through a groove carved in the basin’s edge and continues into the main course of the torrential stream. In a region of porous carbonate rock, lacking in surface waters, the spring stands out in the landscape. A footpath leads to the spring, where the Vasanska community office has placed a bench and an information panel. The panel tells visitors the meaning of the spring’s current name (vrutki = springs, wells) and how it changed in the past. It also explains how women once used the waters of the spring to wash clothes.

M. R.