It is the second-longest cave system in the country (following the Migovec Cave System) as well as one of its top tourism sites. The caves were created by the Pivka River.
The cave was first described in the 17th century by the pioneer of study of karst phenomena, Johann Weikhard von Valvasor. In 1818, when the cave was being prepared for a visit by Francis I, the first Emperor of the Austria-Hungary, a new area of the cave was discovered accidentally by local Luka Čeč.
First tourist guide and electric lighting
In 1819, Čeč became the first official tourist guide for the caves when the caves were opened to the public. Electric lighting was added in 1884, preceding even Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola province, that the cave was part of at the time, and further enhancing the cave system's popularity.
Cave rails
In 1872, cave rails were laid along with first cave train for tourists. At first, these were pushed along by the guides themselves, later at the beginning of the 20th century a gas locomotive was introduced.
Blackening of the entrance
During World War II, German occupying forces used the cave to store nearly 1,000 barrels of aircraft fuel, which were destroyed in April 1944 by Slovene Partisans. The fire burned for seven days, destroying a large section of the cave and blackening the entrance.
After WW II
After 1945, the gas locomotive was replaced by an electric one. 5.3 km (3.3 mi) of the caves are open to the public, the longest publicly accessible depth of any cave system in the world.
Natural environment
The caves are also home to the endemic olm, the largest trogloditic amphibian in the world. The tour through the caves includes an aquarium with some olms in it.
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About the Cave
A fantastic web of tunnels, passages, galleries and halls, the astonishing diversity of Karst features as well as easy access are certainly the main reasons for such popularity of the cave and a large number of visitors, which has already reached 35 million in 200 years.
Postojna Cave is the best-known cave in the world. It is also the greatest tourist attraction in Slovenia and one of the world's largest karst monuments. Many books and other contributions have been written about Postojna Cave; speaking of tourist guides regarding the cave itself, almost 100 have been produced over 200 years.
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The only cave with a double track railway
For 140 years, the Postojna Cave, as the only cave in the world, offers a unique and adventurous ride with a special train, which will take you into the cave, under spectacular underground arches, which are embellished with chandellier look-alike stalactites, through a beautiful subterranean world full of playful limestone sculptures.
From 300 metres of accessible routes in 1818, a visitor today can enjoy the tour of 5 km through tunnels and passages which takes about an hour and a half. The tour begins at the entrance platform of this unique cave railway, where particularly in the summer you can feel a lively bustle otherwise typical of the biggest train stations in the world. This is where 3.7 km long railway tracks begin.
From footpaths...
For many years visitors could only explore the cave on foot. In 1857, when the Emperor and Empress visited the cave, special sedan chairs were made for Empress Elisabeth and her ladies-in-waiting for this occasion. The sedan chairs were not used at the time, however it was from then on possible for other wealthy visitors to rent them.
That was also the time when the region around Postojna rapidly modernised. In 1857 the railway connected Postojna with Vienna and Trieste and the world around. The following year a number of visitors almost doubled and a year later it rose dramatically. A large number of visitors which increased every year prompted the cave management to start thinking about changes and other solutions which would make it possible to reach the most beautiful parts of the cave. For instance, a geographer, karstologist and a pioneer of modern speleology, Anton Schmidl, proposed riding donkeys be used.
The man who is to a great extent responsible for such rise of tourism in Postojna is a man from Selška dolina valley, a Slovenian national awakener, Anton Globočnik pl. Sorodolski, who in 1863 became the district governor of Postojna and consequently also the Chairman of the Cave Board. During his long career, he was responsible for numerous novelties introduced in the Cave, which improved the good reputation of the Cave with its growing offer. He was also the inititator of the cave railway.
... to one-track...
In 1872 the first tracks which led to the Great mountain (previously known as Calvary) were laid. These enabled transport of little two-seater carriages which were pushed by the cave guides. However, the small man-powered railway could not cope with the large numbers of visitors. The idea of introducing machines instead of man-power was planned during the WW1, however, it was only realized in 1924. A year before the whole railway system in the cave had been renovated. The first locomotive Montania no. 803 is today kept in the Notranjska Museum of Postojna, while the other locomotive Montania S-10, no. 2004 is exhibited on the platform in front of the entrance.
In 1928 at the entrance to the cave, a new administration building, today known as Jamski dvorec Mansion, was built. It comprised of a restaurant, a guest reception room and also a new railway stop where visitors who chose to view the cave from the train could board. However, those visitors who wanted to explore the cave on foot used the main entrance, which today is used as an exit. This system was in use until 1963.
...and two-track loop railway
In time it became apparent that the old petrol locomotives were no longer suitable for their purpose. Their exhaust fumes created some sort of fog in the cave and thus reduced visibility. In 1957, to mark the formal opening of a new tourist season, their role was taken over by new battery-powered locomotives. Throughout these years, visitor numbers were constantly on the increase, and with the growing number of visitors the pre-war single-track railway, with just two sidings along the whole line, on which only three locomotives could run simultaneously, was becoming a real bottleneck.
On June 20, 1964, there was a formal opening of the two-track line with a loop near the entrance to the cave and a terminus at the end of the line on the foot of the Great Mountain, known as the Calvary station. In 1968, the second stage was completed with the construction of the loop to the Concert Hall. The two-track loop line enabled uniterrupted transport of numerous visitors, who visited the cave in the following decades.
fonte: @edisonmariotti #edisonmariotti
http://www.postojnska-jama.eu/en/about-the-cave/the-only-cave-with-a-double-track-railway/
colaboração : Majda Raj
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