Vilenica - one of the oldest show caves

Fig.1. One of the remarkable stalagmites in the entrance part of the cave (Photo by J. Hajna)

Slovenia is a country of classic karst. After the regional name Kras this term was accepted in all the international languages. In Slovenia there are 7500 karst caves registered, protected by legal acts. Vilenica, the cave in the south-west Slovenia near the Slovene-Italian border at Trieste has a slightly special place among them. In 1748 already the cave was described by order of Emperor Franz I, the description remained in manuscript. This cave is probably the oldest show cave in the world and by the time Postojnska jama was opened for tourists this was the most visited karst cave in Classical Karst. The entrance fees were introduced in 1633 already. It is said that in 1660 the cave was visited by Emperor Leopold.

At the beginning of the 18th century the cave was so famous that count Petac (Petazzi) subscribed it to church. The reason is not quite clear, maybe for tourism purposes, maybe because of search for water, as Karst is always short of water. In 1821 the painter Peter Fendi obtained a gold medal for his oil painting of Vilenica. This work of art is believed to be the oldest artistic presentation of a karst cave. Even today Vilenica is noted for its cultural activity. Every year since 1986 the Society of Slovene writers awards the best literary work at the international meeting "Vilenica". A lot of renowned writers has received this reward.

In the second half of the 18th century surgeon and natural scientist Baltazar Hacquet writes that Vilenica is the finest cave in the world. In fact there were numerous beautiful speleothems which were later partially transferred into other caves and partially became dark due to smoke of visitor lamps.

Fig. 2. Map of Vilencia in horizontal and vertical position (after Gams, 1984)

Vilenica is about 800 m long cave with denivelation of about 180 m. The cave is well decorated with a series of nice speleothems. The cave is noted for large halls and rich flowstone decoration. There are many nice draperies. A gigantic stalagmite, more than 30 m high having 10 m in diameter in its lower part, probably the largest speleothem in Slovenia, is an outstanding feature in this cave.

The cave consists of three morphologically characteristic parts, all of them transformed by breakdowns. The first part is very large and strongly controlled by breakdown; a foot-path leads through it. The central part is smaller and the third part, consisting of the Fabrisov Rov gives an impression of a large, inclined fissure. The cave is entered by steps to reach the so-called Ballroom. Onward is the Speleothem Promenade with many speleothem columns. The Red Hall consists of coloured speleothems. Many speleothems are also found in the Great Mountain. In the Porch is a flowstone Chapel. In 1823 an artificial tunnel was made from the Chapel to the Fairy Hall, which is, according to speleothems, the finest part of Vilenica. Among them is an outstanding stalagmite, 18 m high. According to old beliefs, fairies lived in the bottom of the cave giving the name to it (vila (fairy) - Vilenica). The final part of the cave, named Fabrisov Rov, is accessible to cavers only. In this part there are red stalactites covered by white helictites.

The main body of the cave has developed inside a fissure zone. Irrespective of how the primary passages inside this zone were directed, ceiling collapses are mostly controlled by faults. It is interesting that the orientation of the show part is almost entirely perpendicular to recent underground conduits. The divergence may be explained by the great age of the cave and it is quite possible that the underground water flows that shaped it, were oriented differently than today. A hypothesis exists that the accessible cave makes just one part of former bigger cave system. Anyway due to intensive passage collapse the information about the original conditions are in many places completely blurred.

The karst cave Vilenica has mostly a historical value. Today it is well displayed and electrified being one of the most visited caves in Slovenia.

References:
GAMS, I. 1974, Kras.- Slovenska matica, 359 p., Ljubljana.

GAMS, I. 1984, Origin of the Cave Vilenica in the Point of View of the Geomorfological Development of the Sežana Karst.- Sežanski kras, 7-12, Sežana.

ŠUŠTERŠIC, F. & S. GERŠAK., 1992, First Measurments of the Master Structures of the Vilenica Cave.- Naše jame, 34, 20-28, Ljubljana.

GROM S., 1963, Die Höhle Vilenica bei Lokev.- Naše jame, 5, 1-2, 49-52, Ljubljana.

Knez Martin & Rajko Pavlovec

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