Predjama Castle

PredjamaSlovenia

19 Sept

Perched on a cliff, we find ourselves in a very interesting corner of the world

Back in the day Predjama Castle proved incredibly difficult to enter, just ask our main character and he’ll tell you. Come and discover this unique destination that holds so much history and ingenuity.

The Castle

Our castle today has been described as an

Impregnable medieval marvel

and so it should. It literally sits in the middle of a cliff. A 123 metre high cliff, and has sat there for over 800 years.

So back when Predjama Castle was built, comfort wasn’t really at the forefront of the builders minds. They were more worried about safety, and not being killed by invaders. So what better place to build a castle than halfway up a cliff. No one’s going to be able to get to you up there.

Just a mere 9 km from the Slovenian town of Postojna, the name of Predjama Castle quite literally translates to ‘the castle in front of the cave’. And as one of Slovenia’s most popular castles it usually sees thousands of tourists stop by every year.

The Castle itself doesn’t look like your typical castle, it doesn’t have any crenelated towers, or interior decorations or really any refined details to it at all. But the white walls of the castle really do contrast nicely with the black cliffs, giving an almost surreal feeling as it comes into view.

The castle is first found in historical writings of 1274, where it was mentioned in relation to the German family name of ‘Luegg’. Now the owners of the castle were the Patriarchs of Aquileia, but they gave the castle to the Luegg noble family who really made the castle their own by expanding and fortifying the castle where it was needed.

Originally the castle was built bit by bit throughout the 12th century, but the castle was practically rebuilt a couple times through the ages that what we see today is actually from the 16th century, but we’ll discuss that a little bit more later on.

The original architecture though was pretty much primarily in the Gothic style, and why not? The whole damn place is almost lifted directly out of a gothic novel.

But much like any gothic novel, our hero is about to enter the story and really make things interesting. What’s a hero without a war against the Habsburgs and a year long siege. We’re about to find out.

The Legend

As we already know, the Castle was built at the mouth of a cave half way up a cliff. This was pretty smart, because it meant that the castle had a cave world right behind it. Imagine that, a cave for a backyard.

And our hero, a rebellious Knight, who drew parallels with Robin Hood, i.e. robbing the rich to give to the poor, Erazem of Predjama would use this cave and its hidden entrances and exits for his expeditions.

Erazem, or Erasmus was a member of the Lueger family, possibly the same ones as the Luegg family in those historical writings, and after gaining a fair bit of land and power, he actually became quite a well known ‘robber-baron’ in the Predjama region.

The Castle was very well equipped for sieges or invasions of any kind. There are holes in the ceiling of the entrance tower, purely for the purpose of pouring boiling oil down onto the heads of intruders, and in a very dark and dank dungeon, a chest, full to the top with treasure, was found. The chest was discovered as recently as 1991, but it’s believed to have been sitting there since the 16th century. So booby traps, check. Hidden treasure, check. What more does a gothic castle need but a terrific hiding spot for our hero. And that is exactly was Erazem’s Nook is. A little spot in the cave, that was perfect for a robber-baron to hideout while his enemies were looking for him.

The legend about our Knight Erazem goes a little something like this:

So when the Hungarians were fighting with the Austrians, Erazem supported the Hungarian cause and had allied himself with King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary.

But after the Commander of the Imperial Army of Frederick III, the Holy Roman Emperor, had insulted a deceased dear friend of Erazem’s, the robber-baron was forced to kill him in order to avenge his friends honour. And because the Commander was a relation of the King of Austria, well, now we really have a war.

So with the Austrians after him, Erazem went and hid in his castle that was built specifically for keeping unwanted peoples out. So he holes up in Predjama Castle and Frederick’s army is sitting right outside with the clear intention of starving Erazem out. But the Austrians did not know about the secret passage way curtesy of the cave that allowed Erazem to come and go from his castle as he pleased, allowing him to continue his Robin Hood like deeds and to tease the sieging army at the same time.

So while the Habsburgs of Austria are sitting out the front of the Castle waiting for Erazem to give up, Erazem’s escaping out the back, living his best life. To the Habsburgs astonishment, Erazem lasted a year, a very comfortable year I might add.

Now the siege started in 1484, and obviously the Austrians were unable to gain access to the castle. And to make matters worse, Erazem mocked his attackers, reportedly showering them with fresh cherries, obviously ones he had found while out on one of his adventures.

Completely baffled as to how he had access to fresh cherries after being inside a stone castle for who knows how long, the Austrians were starting to get, understandably, incredibly frustrated.

According to legend, that is perhaps just slightly unfounded, one of Erazem’s servants had had enough of this ridiculous siege, and he betrayed Erazem by telling the Austrians that the only bathroom that Erazem used was in quite a vulnerable spot. A spot that they could hit with a cannonball and end this whole ridiculous thing.

And so once Erazem has to go. The servant gave the signal, and a cannonball was sent, ending Erazem’s life.

Now while Erazem was alive, we know that he took full advantage of that cave for a backyard. The cave itself is actually massive. It’s four floors high and is decently long as well. In fact it’s the second longest cave in the country.

And all four floors are connected to each other one way or another. The only two spots that aren’t connected are what’s called Erazem’s Hole and Erazem’s Passage that can be found on the top floor.

It’s believed that the cave and all its tunnels is about 14 km, so it’s no Paris Catacombs, but it’s also not what I would call a short stroll either.

Archaeologists have actually found that the cave behind Predjama Castle has actually been used and inhabited by humans from as early as the Stone Age. Now that’s a pretty decent amount of time, and perhaps suggests that those early people could also see the advantage of such a well placed cave with useful entrances and exits.

Romans have also been found, or at least remains that date back to Roman times. They were found in a section of the cave called the Stables, which very conveniently was at the entrance to the cave. And the Cave of Names houses signatures which were scratched into the walls way back in the 16th century, possibly by those who helped rebuild the castle.

So it’s pretty clear that the cave has been a popular one throughout time, and has probably seen far more than we know.

Today

Like all great places, Predjama Castle has had its time on the big screen. Several films and even documentaries have been filmed at the location.

A big one was The Armour of God, a kung-fu film filmed in 1986, starring none other than the amazing Jackie Chan. Reportedly, the castle has been an inspiration for George R.R. Martin in his books, you can come to own conclusions about which castle has Predjama routes. And of course the Discovery Channel’s Ghost Hunters International visited in 2008, reportedly finding the castle to be chock full of ghosts.

Like I mentioned before, the castle has been reconstructed a couple times over the centuries. And not just little bits here and there, I’m talking full complete reconstructions. So the original gothic facing that Erazem would have seen has long been gone, and if you visit today, you’ll find something more akin to a renaissance style façade.

So there were two big rebuilds of the castle. The first was after the significant damage the castle experienced as a result of the siege that good old Erazem put the thing under. At the beginning of the 16th century, we’re talking very early 1500’s, the Purgstall family found themselves in possession of this very unique castle and so rebuilt it.

But unfortunately, not too long after the castle was rebuilt, there was a massive earthquake in 1511 which once again destroyed the newly completed marvel of architecture.

The castle just kind of sat there for about 60 years, I suppose if you think about it taking on a destroyed castle and living in it is a pretty big ask. But Baron Philipp von Cobenzl was up to the challenge. And in 1570, he set about rebuilding the castle with a whole new look. A little more Renaissance.

Once the castle was complete, it did pretty well. As the centuries came and went it changed hands a couple of times, but as 1945 approached, and the World War receded, the castle ended up being turned over to the Yugoslav authorities, when the country formed part of Yugoslavia, and the castle became a museum. Which, I think is the best thing a medieval castle can be turned into.

Since the 1990s work has not stopped at the Castle. The aim has been to restore and renovate the castle so that it is as close to how it looked once Cobenzl had finished the reconstruction and was living in the Castle full time.

But since 2007, the Castle has been managed by the company Postojnska jama d.d., which has actually won awards for its management of Predjama Castle, and since a new owner came along in 2010 has actually really improved the overall experience of visiting the cave. Pretty impressive. And even better is that some of the items you see in the castle are actually owned and on lease by the Notranjska Museum in Postojna, so you know getting the castle looking spick and span is the job of a tribe.

Now when you go to visit the castle yourself, you’ll have the choice of visiting the interior of the castle and the cave separately. Definitely do both.

The castle itself actually has some pretty cool exhibits going on. There’s a medieval torture chamber, of course, and a lot of the rooms look pretty similar to what they would have looked during the Medieval ages.

You can even see the pipes that were installed into the cave rock. These pipes are actually really useful, they provide water for the use of the castle, but because this water is coming off the rocks, and like most water on the European continent, its crystal clear.

Now all of this information and more is expertly included in the audio guide, so no stress in having to remember this little episode. And if you find yourself visiting the castle in July, keep an eye out for the Medieval Tournament they hold every year. Now that would be an exciting experience.

And now to the cave, visitors can relive what it would have been like throughout the siege, and they can see how the Knight Erazem would have make his escape to complete his daring deeds.

One thing to keep in mind though, is that the cave is actually inhabited by bats, and is closed while the bats hibernate, so the cave is actually only open to visitor from May through to September, so plan accordingly. And because of the bats, there’s no lighting in the cave, of course not, this is an authentic medieval cave, and all visitors given access to the cave are also given a flashlight in order to find their way. Now make sure you book ahead if you’re after a tour, and if you’re really hardcore and want to go splunking, you’ll definitely need to book, and no need to bring your own gear, you can hire whatever specialist equipment you need when you get there.

Much like the Catacombs in Paris, there is a pre-approved route for tourists, this route is a mere 700 metres long and shows you some classics such as the Stables, the Cave of Names, the Great Hall, the Main Passage and the exit of the cave that the daring Erazem used all those centuries ago.

So what are you waiting for. Once those airlines open up again, book your ticket to Slovenia and experience the intrigue and peer through the renaissance to the gothic and see what living in a medieval castle would have been like for yourself.