About Us

An island where nature came home

Veľký Lél island, covering more than 250 hectares, is known as one of the last large Danube islands in Slovakia. Here, human stewardship in harmony with nature meets the untamed wilderness of a floodplain landscape.

An island with history

The meadows, forests, and Danube side channels of Veľký Lél have seen a wild past and quiet years of neglect. Our story is one of bringing life back – a collaboration between people and nature that transforms the landscape step by step. Once, farmsteads, a distillery, and a beautiful park stood here. The meadows fed herds of horses and cattle, and the waters of the channels teemed with fish. As traditional farming retreated, the island began to change – overgrown, drying out, fading from memory.

A new beginning with BROZ

Since 2006, the conservation organisation BROZ has been caring for the island. Together with local farmers, water management experts, scientists, and volunteers, we began restoring what remained – and bringing back what we could. We leased the majority of the island, cleared silted-up channels, and launched programmes to protect habitats and traditional landscape features.

The return of animals

Through grazing and mowing, the island is once again transforming into a mosaic of meadow, woodland, and wetland habitats. From 2009, the first cattle herd was brought to the island, once again helping to shape the landscape in a natural way. But these are no ordinary animals – among them you’ll find traditional breeds such as Hungarian grey cattle (szürke marha), black Racka sheep with their distinctive twisted horns, and sturdy Hucul horses, a native Slovak breed perfectly suited to the Danube landscape.

A revived side channel

The Veľký Lél side channel was cut off from the Danube around 20 years ago due to the planned construction of the Nagymaros hydroelectric dam. A concrete road slowed the flow of water, the channel lost its connection to the river, silted up, and became overgrown. In 2014, BROZ restored the watercourse as part of the LIFE project by removing embankments and concrete barriers. The channel was reconnected to the Danube, water began to flow again, fish returned to their spawning grounds, and waterfowl habitats came back to life. In 2015, the last obstacle was removed – an old weir with a road crossing. It was replaced by Mahulienin Bridge, which allows both access and the free flow of water. Today, the channel is once again a living part of the landscape.

Step by step towards sustainability

On the island, we restore pollard willows, plant native tree species, remove invasive plants, and educate visitors. Every stay at the eco-farm, every grazing season, and every walk through the forest helps preserve this landscape for future generations.