Not far from Ptuj, close to the village of Podvinci, there are two ponds: a big one and a small one, called »Pacinje« and »Tičnica«. The ponds are at least 200 years old and are mapped in the old Austrian Joseph's cadastre. It is sup­posed that Maria Theresa intended to use them for provision of the army with fish. Since their creation until today, the ponds in Podvinci are together with the forest that surrounds them, a heaven for many different species of animals and plants. Due to some rare species which are almost extinct elsewhere, the ponds with their surrounding are protected as a nature reserve. The ponds are defined as an European important area for con­serving nature as well — the Natura 2000 area.