Cave beneath Predjama Castle

9 December 2020 Caves

What a funny name. A cave beneath a castle that stands before a cave. True recursion.

The Cave beneath Predjama Castle is in Predjama, beneath Predjama Castle :)

Almost exactly a year after I took Matej Blatnik tandem paragliding, he took us into the cave. Alongside Postojna Cave, Predjama is the second most tourist-oriented cave in our municipality, but certainly not the easiest. Guided tours of this cave are sold as an "adrenaline experience", and it is also where new cavers from Postojna take their first steps.

And an adrenaline experience it certainly is. The cave is muddy and slippery. It is hard to come out dry, and even harder to come out clean. To reach the beautiful flowstone chambers you have to negotiate quite a few steep, slippery ridges, both up and down, and you cannot tell whether it is easier on two feet, on all fours, or on your backside.
This was my first real caving experience; Ana had already had many of them at university. It was also my first serious experience of cave photography, where a good photograph requires a little more equipment than just a camera on which you can leave the shutter open for 30 seconds.

We went to see the stream that becomes active after heavy rain.

Predjama System, as it is more commonly known, has already been explored for more than 16 kilometres in length and to a depth of 168 metres. Exploration began in 1952, although it would be difficult to say the cave was discovered then, since at least Erazem of Predjama already knew about it. Signatures from the 18th century can also be found inside. It is a cave with a permanent stream, and although the cave register says it is open, it is in fact locked, with controlled access.

Cavers in red and green stand beneath sculpted flowstone and a slender forming stalactite in Predjama's cave system.

A still cave pool reflects flowstone walls illuminated with bands of purple, amber and cool white light in Predjama.

Helmeted cavers wade through a shallow underground stream in the cave beneath Predjama Castle.

Two headlamps shine across still cave water and densely decorated flowstone beneath Predjama Castle.

Two helmeted cavers wade through a shallow reflective stream beneath sculpted rock in the cave below Predjama Castle.

A caver kneels beneath a long, slender stalactite and ochre flowstone inside the cave below Predjama Castle.

A water droplet hangs from the tip of a delicate forming stalactite, warmly lit against the dark cave.

Two helmeted cavers carefully cross a shallow stream, their headlamps reflected in the clear cave water.

Matej in a red caving suit crosses a rushing underground stream over wet dark rock.

A caver in red climbs a metal ladder through a narrow pale limestone shaft in the Predjama cave system.

Close view of weathered handwritten names and the year 1725 marked on pale rock inside the cave behind Predjama Castle.

A lesser horseshoe bat hangs wrapped in its wings from a rough cave wall during winter hibernation.

Predjama Castle clings to a vertical limestone cliff above leafless winter woodland under an overcast sky.

A few more of Matej's photographs with Ana and me in them.

A caver in red stands on a narrow ledge beside a dark reflective pool and layered flowstone wall.

Two cavers face an enormous pale flowstone formation in the cave behind Predjama Castle.