Page 75 - Hrobat Virloget, Katja, et al., eds. (2015). Stone narratives: heritage, mobility, performance. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 75
iting the karst underground: development of cave tourism in slovenia
of stairs in 1823. The path was routed to the bottom of the Great Valley, which enabled visits
to the Tominc Cave, named after Matej Tominc, a provincial councillor who started rebuild-
ing the stairs in 1819. In fact, the year 1819 is known as the beginning of the development of
tourism in the Škocjan Caves. This is the year when the guestbook was also introduced – Lib-
er Cavernae St. Canziani.14 Before these arrangements were made, the entrance and descent
into the cave were quite dangerous – even life-threatening (Müller, 1890a, p.11).15
At the end of the 30s of the 19th century the first studies were conducted16 by Ivan Svet-
ina, an expert on wells from Trieste, who reached the third waterfall, about 150 metres from
the sink in Velika dolina, in 1840. The following explorations took place between 1851 and
1852 and were led by Adolf Schmidl with a group of miners from Idrija headed by Ivan Ru-
dolf. They penetrated up to half a kilometre farther, to the fourth, maybe even the sixth,
waterfall. A sudden rise of the Reka River swept away their equipment and three boats, so
they were forced to end their work earlier. In his descriptions Schmidl also notes that the
visits to the caves were still relatively low in number, with about 150 visitors per year (Shaw,
2008, 52; Müller, 1887 and 1890).
The turning point in the exploration of the Škocjan Caves was the foundation of a
speleology division by the Primorska Section of the German and Austrian Mountaineer-
ing Society of Trieste (DuÖAV – Abtheilung für Grottenforschung) in 1884, which also ac-
quired the lease to the Škocjan Caves in the same year. Under the leadership of the »cave
triumvirate« (Anton Hanke, Jožef Marinitsch and Friedrich Müller) and with the help of
local people (Jože Antončič, Jurij Cerkvenik – Gomboč, Franc Žnideršič, Pavel Antončič,
Jože Cerkvenik, Janez Delež), a systematic penetration along the river and exploration of
the caves began. The regulation of the tourist path, building of bridges, guided tours and
an entrance fee were arranged (Müller, 1887, pp. 9–10; Pazze, 1893, pp. 354–359; Shaw, 2008,
pp. 51–52). Both scientific and tourism-related development successfully proceeded.
Unlike the Škocjan Caves, the Postojna Cave was fairly well known and visited by
foreign travellers and tourists in the modern period even though only a part of the cave
had been discovered by 1818. An accidental discovery by Luka Čeč opened the door to a
very successful tourist destination. After this discovery the entrance was closed, an en-
trance fee was introduced, and a regulation of the pathways, provision of lightning and
guide service was soon arranged. The administrative body of the cave was the Cave Com-
mittee, established in 1824 (1823). In 1919, the cave was opened as a tourist cave, and the
first to sign the guest book was the Crown Prince Ferdinand (Čuk, 2003; Kariž, 2008).
A crucial moment for the intensive development of cave tourism in Postojna occurred
with the construction of the south railway from Vienna to Trieste in 1857. One of the
stops was also Postojna. The railway enabled an easier, faster, safer, punctual and cheaper
transport for many more passengers than in the pre-industrial era (Čeč, 2009). The mod-
ern transport connection also brought the Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth
into town. The Postojna Cave had never before been so luxuriously illuminated. It was
fitted with over 12.000 lights, 1.500 of them in the Great Hall alone. Three velvet litters
were made for the Empress and her maids of honour, which could later be hired by other
wealthy guests (Čeč, 2001, p. 37).
14 The book is no longer preserved.
15 The translation of Müller’s work into Slovene was made possible by the Park Škocjanske jame in 2013.
16 The reason was the search of water supply for Trieste.
73
of stairs in 1823. The path was routed to the bottom of the Great Valley, which enabled visits
to the Tominc Cave, named after Matej Tominc, a provincial councillor who started rebuild-
ing the stairs in 1819. In fact, the year 1819 is known as the beginning of the development of
tourism in the Škocjan Caves. This is the year when the guestbook was also introduced – Lib-
er Cavernae St. Canziani.14 Before these arrangements were made, the entrance and descent
into the cave were quite dangerous – even life-threatening (Müller, 1890a, p.11).15
At the end of the 30s of the 19th century the first studies were conducted16 by Ivan Svet-
ina, an expert on wells from Trieste, who reached the third waterfall, about 150 metres from
the sink in Velika dolina, in 1840. The following explorations took place between 1851 and
1852 and were led by Adolf Schmidl with a group of miners from Idrija headed by Ivan Ru-
dolf. They penetrated up to half a kilometre farther, to the fourth, maybe even the sixth,
waterfall. A sudden rise of the Reka River swept away their equipment and three boats, so
they were forced to end their work earlier. In his descriptions Schmidl also notes that the
visits to the caves were still relatively low in number, with about 150 visitors per year (Shaw,
2008, 52; Müller, 1887 and 1890).
The turning point in the exploration of the Škocjan Caves was the foundation of a
speleology division by the Primorska Section of the German and Austrian Mountaineer-
ing Society of Trieste (DuÖAV – Abtheilung für Grottenforschung) in 1884, which also ac-
quired the lease to the Škocjan Caves in the same year. Under the leadership of the »cave
triumvirate« (Anton Hanke, Jožef Marinitsch and Friedrich Müller) and with the help of
local people (Jože Antončič, Jurij Cerkvenik – Gomboč, Franc Žnideršič, Pavel Antončič,
Jože Cerkvenik, Janez Delež), a systematic penetration along the river and exploration of
the caves began. The regulation of the tourist path, building of bridges, guided tours and
an entrance fee were arranged (Müller, 1887, pp. 9–10; Pazze, 1893, pp. 354–359; Shaw, 2008,
pp. 51–52). Both scientific and tourism-related development successfully proceeded.
Unlike the Škocjan Caves, the Postojna Cave was fairly well known and visited by
foreign travellers and tourists in the modern period even though only a part of the cave
had been discovered by 1818. An accidental discovery by Luka Čeč opened the door to a
very successful tourist destination. After this discovery the entrance was closed, an en-
trance fee was introduced, and a regulation of the pathways, provision of lightning and
guide service was soon arranged. The administrative body of the cave was the Cave Com-
mittee, established in 1824 (1823). In 1919, the cave was opened as a tourist cave, and the
first to sign the guest book was the Crown Prince Ferdinand (Čuk, 2003; Kariž, 2008).
A crucial moment for the intensive development of cave tourism in Postojna occurred
with the construction of the south railway from Vienna to Trieste in 1857. One of the
stops was also Postojna. The railway enabled an easier, faster, safer, punctual and cheaper
transport for many more passengers than in the pre-industrial era (Čeč, 2009). The mod-
ern transport connection also brought the Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth
into town. The Postojna Cave had never before been so luxuriously illuminated. It was
fitted with over 12.000 lights, 1.500 of them in the Great Hall alone. Three velvet litters
were made for the Empress and her maids of honour, which could later be hired by other
wealthy guests (Čeč, 2001, p. 37).
14 The book is no longer preserved.
15 The translation of Müller’s work into Slovene was made possible by the Park Škocjanske jame in 2013.
16 The reason was the search of water supply for Trieste.
73
