Nekoč rudnik, danes jezero:
Začetki rudnika segajo do 21.9.1803, ko knez Viljem Auersperg dobi pravice za kopanje premoga na območju današnje Trate. S premogom je želel poganjati svoj plavž, vendar premog za te namene ni bil primeren, zato je rudnik opustil. Pravice za kopanje so večkrat zamenjale roke. Iz virov lahko vidimo, da je leta 1852 posest prešla v roke bratov Ranzinger, ki so na območju Kočevja poleg rudnika zgradili še steklarno. Ta je za delovanje lahko uporabljala rjavi premog. Rudnik v tem obdobju zraste in v letu 1860 beleži izkop 2408 ton premoga, ki se v večini porabi za steklarno in druge lokalne obrate. Kasneje se rudnik proda Trboveljski premogokopni družbi (v nadaljevanju TPD).
Leta 1893 se odpre železniška proga Grosuplje-Kočevje. Ta je bila za rudnik izrednega pomena, saj se je z njo odprlo tudi tržišče po celi državi in tujini. Šele takrat je dobil kočevski premog svojo pravo vrednost, kar je omogočilo veliko povečanje rudnika. TPD z železnico sklene pogodbo, ki zahteva letni izkop 100.000 ton premoga, od tega je 8.000 ton premoga namenjenih za lokalno porabo, ostali premog pa je namenjen izvozu. Iz te pogodbe lahko razberemo, kako velik pomen je igrala železnica za razvoj in tudi obstoj rudnika.
Rudnik je nemoteno deloval skozi prvo svetovno vojno in v obdobju takoj po vojni.
Od leta 1921 pa je rudnik začel nazadovati. Zaradi podržavljenja železnic po razpadu Avstro-Ogrske, je prišlo do spremembe pogodbe, ki je bila temelj uspešnega delovanja rudnika. Odkup premoga se je zmanjšal zato je nadaljnje vlaganje postalo neprofitno, število delavcev pa je začelo upadati. Za primerjavo lahko vidimo, da je leta 1919 rudnik imel 1200 delavcev, leta 1930 pa le 100 ali manj. Kakovost življenja rudarjev je upadla in mnogi so celo stradali.
Razmere so se izboljšale na začetku druge svetovne vojne v letu 1940 in 1941, ko so izkopali 116.700 ton premoga. V času italijanske okupacije je rudnik deloval v zmanjšanem obsegu, ker je delovna sila odšla v NOV, bil pa je tudi tarča sabotažnih akcij. Dne 8.12.1943 so partizani napadli Kočevje. Med napadom so bili porušeni vsi pomembni objekti rudnika.
Po drugi svetovni vojni je bil rudnik obnovljen in je deloval normalno do leta 1961, ko se je zaprl dnevni kop. Preostanek rudnika je deloval do leta 1978, takrat pa se je zaprl v celoti.
V času obratovanja rudnika sta bili prvotno obstoječi le dve večji luži, kateri je napajal tako imenovani Rudniški potok in iz katerih se je črpala voda za pranje premoga. Ko so z izkopavanjem premoga prenehali, se je tudi prečrpavanje vode ustavilo. Kotlina dnevnega kopa se je pričela polniti z vodo in tako je med letoma 1973 in 1978 nastalo umetno jezero, ki ga danes poznamo kot Kočevsko jezero.
Kočevsko jezero
Kočevsko jezero se nahaja na Kočevskem polju, natančneje dober kilometer izven samega mesta Kočevje. Največja izmerjena globina jezera je 40 m, njegova površina je okrog 1,5 km2, obala pa meri okrog 3 km. Sama struktura tal je kar razgibana od raznih previsov do platojev, na nekaterih pozicijah pa tudi razne podvodne ovire (koli, veje, drevesa).
Jezero ponuja številne rekreacijske možnosti, kot so: čolnarjenje, plavanje, potapljanje, ter pozimi drsanje.
Leta 1989 je Ribiška družina Kočevje začela v jezero vlagati večje količine rib, veliko iz reke Rinže, v letu 2003 pa tudi iz Reškega jezera. V jezeru plavajo kleni, linji, krapi (ki so do danes zrasli v kapitalne primerke čez 20kg), somi, rdečeperke, ščuke, amurji, idr.
Območje jezera je danes bogato naseljeno z rastlinskimi in živalskimi vrstami. Tukaj najdemo 15 vrst kačjih pastirjev. Na območju gnezdi preko 64 vrst ptic, med katerimi je 15 vrst na rdečem seznamu ogroženih gnezdilk Slovenije. Preko Kočevske potekajo selitvene poti ptic iz severne in srednje Evrope do Sredozemlja ter Afrike. Jezero je odlično mesto za opazovanje in proučevanje ptic kot tudi za ribolov. Trstje obrašča plitvine ob obali, kjer gnezdijo številni rakarji (spodnja slika). Platoje nad jezerom poraščajo visoke trave, kjer si vsakoletni gnezdilci spletejo svoja gnezda. V sušnih obdobjih leta so tu pogosti požari in takrat na teh površinah ni ptic. Na pogorišča pa priletijo krokarji in sive vrane.
Okoli jezera je speljana tri kilometre dolga naravoslovna učna pot, ki pelje mimo vseh najbolj značilnih biotopov (jezera, trstičja, travišč in gozda). Na vzhodni strani so na bregu nameščeni pomoli. Tam pripravljajo navtične sejme s tekmovalnimi regatami, nedaleč od jezera pa izstopa še leseni kozolec, ki ponuja informativno vsebino.
Once a coal mine, now a lake
The beginning of the mine can be traced back to 21.9.1803, when prince Wilhelm Auersperg
receives rights to mine coal in the area known today as Trata. He planned to fuel the blast furnace in
Dvor, using the brown coal mined here but it proved to be inadequate for such purposes, leading him
to abandon the mine. The mining rights changed hands multiple times in the following years.
Sources indicate, that in 1852 the Ranzinger brothers, who were originally glass makers, obtained
the mining rights. Along with the mine, they also built a glass factory in the Kočevje area. The mine
was expanded and recorded 2408 tons of coal mined in 1860. Most of it was used in the glass
factory and other local businesses. Later the mine was sold to Trboveljska premogokopna družba
(mining company of Trbovlje, TPD).
In 1893 the railway line Grosuplje-Kočevje was opened. It was of great importance to the mine, since
it opened the way to new markets in the country and even abroad. This is the time when the brown
coal mined here really gained its value, which caused the mining operations to be greatly expanded.
TPD signed a contract with the railway, which required 100.000 tons of coal to be mined per year,
only 8.000 of that to be used locally, and the rest to be exported. This contract is a great indicator of
the significance the railway had for the development and existence of the mine.
The mine operated normally through World War I and the years immediately following the war.
From the year 1921 however, the mine started regressing. The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian
empire lead to changes in the contract with the railway, which made further investments into the
mine unprofitable for TPD and the number of workers started to decline. We can see from sources,
the mine had 1200 workers in 1919 but their numbers fell sharply to just a hundred or less workers in
1930. The miners' quality of life decreased dramatically, some were even starving.
The conditions improved at the beginning of World War II, when the mine was again producing at its
normal rate, even reaching 116.700 tons of coal mined in 1941. During the Italian occupation the
mine was working at reduced capacity, because of sabotage and the labor force leaving to join the
NOV (National Liberation Army). On 8.12.1943 the partisans attacked Kočevje. During the attack all
of the major buildings and machinery of the mine were destroyed.
After the war the mine was restored and continued to operate normally until 1961, when the strip
mine was shut down, while the rest of the mine operated until 1978 when it was shut down entirely.
While the mine was still operational, there were only two large pools of water supplied by a creek,
known as Rudniški potok. The water was pumped from the pools and used to wash coal.
When the coal mine ceased operations, the water pumps were shut down and the open-pit mine
started filling with water between 1973 and 1978, creating an artificial lake. It is known today as
Kočevsko jezero (Lake of Kočevje).
The lake of Kočevje
The lake of Kočevje is located on a karst field named Kočevsko polje, approximately 1 km from the
centre of the town. The maximum measured depth is 40m, with a 1,5km^2 surface area and a shore
line of 3km. The underwater floor area has quite a dynamic structure; from the overhangs to
plateaus and underwater barriers (posts, branches, trees).
The lake offers many recreational possibilities like: boating, swimming, diving and ice skating in the
winter.
In the year 1989 the association named Ribiška družina Kočevje started to supply the lake with great
amounts of fish, some from the river Rinža and after the year 2003 some fish were added from
Reško jezero (jezero = lake). The lake now contains chub, tench, carp (some of them have grown to
capital instances over 20kg), catfish, rudd, grass carp and other types of fish.
The area surrounding the lake is home to many different animal and plant species. Here we can find
15 different types of dragonflies. It’s also the nesting area of over 64 different bird species, among
which 15 can be found on the red list of endangered nesters of Slovenia. Kočevska is a part of
migration routes of birds from the North and Central Europe to the Mediterranean and Africa. The
lake is a great place for studying and observing birds and for fishing. Reeds growing in the shallows
next to the shore are nesting areas for the Great Reed Warbler (pictured below). The plateaus above
the lake are overgrown with high grass and are a nesting area for the yearly nesters. During the dry
season it’s common for fires to occur and at that time there are no birds except ravens and gray
crows in this area.
A 3km nature trail surrounding the lake offers an insight into the typical biotopes of the area (the
lake, reeds, grassland and forest). On the eastern side of the lake’s bank there are several piers.
Nautical exhibitions with racing regatta are often hosted here. A building, designed to look like a
hayrack, which offers tourist information can be found not far away from the lake.