Gërmia Park is a large beautiful park located in the east part of the city of Prishtina. Its endless forests, well maintained paths, fresh air, and the spitting distance from the city make it an attractive place to spend a nice quiet afternoon or weekend. In addition, a large swimming pool is located in the entrance of the park. Skiing is another activity that can be performed there during winter, though there are no ski lifts or other facilities.
Gërmia covers an area of 62 square kilometres. Due to its geographical position and climate conditions, Gërmia has a rich fauna and flora. It has 610 types of vascular floras classified in 82 families, 5 of which are endemic and twelve are medical species. There is also a large number of extinct plants such as bushy bedstraw (Galium mateii) and northern holly fern (Polystichum lonchitis), as well as some endangered plants like Macedonian oak (Quercus trojana), Illyrian buttercup (Ranunculus illyricus), lady orchid (Orchis purpurea) etc. 83 types of mushrooms were identified including porcini (Boletus edulis), chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), Caesar’s mushroom (Amanita cesarea) etc. Over 75% of Germia Park surface is covered by Hungarian oak, Turkey oak, sessile oak and common beech genus. Vegetation of Gërmia consists of four forest genera: Hungarian and Turkey oak (Quercetum frainetoo cerris scardicum Kras.), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), sessile oak (Quercus sessiliflora) and common beech (Fagus sylvatica). Five species of amphibians including fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) and European tree frog (Hyla arborea), seven species of reptiles represented by wall lizard (Lacerta muralis) and Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermani), thirty-two species of birds – golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), imperial eagle (Aquila heliacal), woodpecker (Picidae) and nineteen species of mammals which include European hedgehog (Erinaceus europeus) and squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). Insects compromise the largest animal group on this massif.
In 1987, the “Gërmia” complex was taken under protection by Pristina’s Municipal Assembly in the category of the Regional Nature Park and is now managed by the publicly owned enterprise “Hortikultura”. The recreation area covers an area of 41.40.52 ha, where most of the area is coated with forests of oak and beech while the rest includes meadows, roads and other infrastructure. This area starts from Germia’s pool and stretches to the beginning of the ski lift, including meadows, children’s playground, sports terrains and inns.
