Žan Kafol Aerial & cave photographer SL
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Najdena (Lipert) Cave

Caves

While searching for the mythical Lipert (Lippert) Cave, Najdena Cave was found, potentially answering many questions raised by Putick's research.

Viljem Putick, a Czech caver and forester (woodland manager), found his passion in exploring the sinking waters in the hinterland of Planinsko polje.
In three and a half months in 1886, he discovered more than a hundred caves in the area. He devoted most of his attention to water caves.
What sparked enormous interest among later generations was Lipert Cave, which received only a passing mention by comparison and was said to be a fairly short, predominantly vertical cave. Its entrance required some digging, and the cave was said to end at an enormous water reservoir, or a real underground river.

After Putick's expeditions, the trail to Lipert Cave was lost, even though Putick left behind precise plans and maps showing the location of the entrance and the cave's interior. Decades of fruitless searching consequently gave rise to many myths and legends. Did Putick fill in the cave entrance? Is there treasure in the cave?
Veterans of the Ljubljana Cave Exploration Society (DZRJL) have been turning over every stone since the 20th century in the hope of finding the entrance to Lipert Cave.
In 1936, the geographer Dr Alfred Šerko published a report stating that Lipert Cave had been found, but the excitement quickly faded because the underground flow of the Unica had not yet been located. Apart from its location, the entrance shaft also did not match Putick's description. Three years later, this supposedly rediscovered Lipert Cave was therefore renamed Najdena Cave.

Today, despite almost eight kilometres having been explored, Najdena Cave still does not fully match Putick's descriptions. There are some similarities, and the general view is that Lipert Cave probably is Najdena, or at least part of it. Until the entrance to Lipert Cave is discovered—either from the surface or from one of the chambers in Najdena Cave—the true answer will remain shrouded in mystery.

Cavers climb a fixed route at different heights inside a towering, daylight-filled cave entrance.
A caver climbs a fixed rope through a tall, sharply textured chamber in Najdena Cave, lit from below.
A lone caver appears tiny inside Najdena jama's immense chamber of layered rock and pale flowstone.
A helmeted caver crouches beside a knobbly crocodile-shaped rock formation in Piparski rov of Najdena Cave.
Ana traverses a narrow, sculpted passage in Najdena Cave, clipped to a rope as her headlamp lights the wet rock.
A caver in red stands beside shallow rimstone pools and a large rounded boulder in the darkness of Najdena jama.
Dense clusters of delicate white cave spaghetti and slender stalactites hang from the ceiling of Najdena Cave.
A helmeted caver stands beside a tall stalagmite and a clear reflective pool inside Najdena jama.
A small caver stands midway along the long, richly layered wall of Najdena jama.
A caver in red climbs fixed aids beneath long stalactites in a steep chamber of Najdena Cave.
Matej braces between deeply sculpted walls while climbing a step in Ičotov Rov, his headlamp shining through the passage.

Lipert Cave still fires the imagination of DZRJL members and provides a reason for an annual gathering and visit to Najdena Cave. Matjaž Puc—Tužak even wrote the society anthem in its honour—LONG LIVE!

Chorus:
Long live, oh, long live, the memory of our Viljem!
Long live, oh, long live, Lipert Cave!
Putik, Putik, Putik, Putik

(in the background)
Putik, Putik, Putik, Putik, Putik,
Putik, Putik, Putik, Putik, Putik,
Solo:
Where is your cave,
cave, your cave, Lipert Cave,
cave, your cave, Lipert Cave.

Show us that cave,
cave, your cave, Lipert Cave,
cave, your cave, Lipert Cave.

All:
Long live, oh, long live, the memory of our Viljem!
Long live, oh, long live, Lipert Cave!

I found a musical setting of this anthem in a video by Primož Jakopin—Klok, at 22 minutes and 17 seconds: https://youtu.be/6boPOufDG9M?t=1337

Historic black-and-white cave map marks Lipertova, Skednena, Vranja and neighbouring caves with hand-drawn passages and terrain.
A monochrome historical cross-section diagram maps Lipertova Cave, showing its sloping passages and vertical chamber profile.
Historic black-and-white cave map showing Putick's surveyed underground passages behind Planina Polje.
A sepia historical map marks Lippert-Höhle, Skednena jama, Vranja jama and surrounding karst features.
A detailed monochrome survey map charts the passages and chambers of Najdena Cave, published by DZRJL in 2013.

References:

Side-by-side comparison pairs a July calendar page with a recent recreation, each showing a red-suited caver wedged between rock walls.
Recreating a pose from seven years earlier. In the photographs: caver Matej Blatnik
Left—Author: Primož Jakopin (Klok), October 2014, for the calendar (July 2015), title: On the Step in Ičo's Passage
Right—Author: Žan Kafol, July 2021, title: Mr July 2015 / 2021

Over the years, the cave has become so internationally well known that it is one of the most visited non-show caves in Slovenia. Although it is relatively demanding, we have encountered cavers of all ages inside it. Sculptures have also been created in the cave's muddy chambers for several decades. One of the oldest is the life-sized Woman with Child.

A life-sized male figure sculpted from damp cave clay lies against the muddy floor of Najdena jama.
Two cavers crouch beneath a low, layered ceiling beside muddy sculpted formations deep inside Najdena Cave.
A miniature handmade castle and small figures sculpted from damp cave mud stand on a sandy floor.
A caver's helmeted head emerges humorously from the rounded clay sculpture called Vojak in Najdena jama.