Postojna Cave - Slovenia

Postojna Cave is located in the Slovenian town of Postojna. It is the most visited cave in Europe and is one of the best known tourist attractions in  Slovenia. Since its official opening in 1819, over 30 million tourists have visited the caves however visitors have been recorded visiting the passages near to the entrance back to the 13^th century. The caves date back over 2 million years where 1mm of stalactite takes 30 years to form.  There are over 27 km of corridors, chambers and caves that have been eroded and carved through the underground by the Pivka River over the centuries. Throughout history the caves remained largely undiscovered until explorers ventured further and further into the caves where inscriptions have been found and dated to be 700 years old.

New areas of the cave were discovered in 1818 by Luka Čeč, who was preparing the cave for the visit of Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria. One year later, the cave was opened for visitors. Locals seeing the caves as an attraction developed the cave to make it more accessible for visitors. In 1872 railway tracks were laid and visitors were pushed along by the guides, in 1884 electric lighting was added, followed by a gas locomotive, and finally an electric train which now covers about 4km of the tour with the rest on foot.

The cave system has a constant temperature around 8°C and a humidity reaching 95%, a perfect environment for over 200 species of fauna, one unusual amphibian is the endemic olm, the largest trogloditic amphibian in the world. These bizarre pink creatures you can see in an aquarium at the end of the tour. The magic of the caves is undoubtedly the galleries of white stalactites that take the shapes of needles, icicles and even spaghetti. The stalagmites are just as spectacular and some of these join creating great pillars or translucent curtains. The Concert Hall is known for its exceptional acoustics and can accommodate 10 000 people for musical performances, Christmas in the caves is not to be missed. Visitors come from all over the world to admire these magnificent structures and to learn how they were created. A visit to the Postojna Cave is a wonderful experience and a great lesson in speleology (the study of science and exploration of caves).

Gallery - Postojna Cave

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