Vilenica Cave was formed in the Cretaceous limestones of the Lipica formation and, due
to the flow of an underground river, runs from northwest to southeast. Its layout is a
single, sloping tunnel, full of speleothems and collapses. These we meet already in the
first hall, but their number and variety only increase with depth.
Vilenica - The first show cave in the world.
The first tourist visits to the cave were recorded in 1633, which defines VIlenica as the first show cave in the world.
NOTABLE GUESTS
The first distinguished visitor was the Austrian Emperor Leopold I (in 1660), who stopped to explore the cave during his visit to the Lipica Stud Farm. Several other eminent visitors walked the ancient halls – Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Sicily (in 1790), Emperor Leopold II of Habsburg-Lorraine (in 1790 and 1791), Emperor Francis I of Habsburg- Lorraine (in 1816 and 1818), and King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (in 1836). (1836). Among the important visitors in the 18th century, we should also mention the Carniolan physician and naturalist Balthasar Hacquet.
THE FIRST VISITOR BOOK
In 1821, a visitor book was introduced in Vilenica. In 1889, it contained signatures from more than 2000 foreign and local visitors, with entries in numerous languages. A copy of the book is on display in the caving society hut (the original is kept at the Karst Research Institute in Postojna).
INSPIRATION TO MANY ARTISTS
The otherworldly speleothem treasures of Vilenica were a source of inspiration for various poets and writers, including Giuseppe Compagnoni di Lugo who wrote the poem La Grotta di Vileniza (The Cave of Vilenica, 1795), and Francesco Trevisani who wrote La Grotta di Vileniza, detta di Corniale (The Cave of Vilenica, Said of Corniale/Lokev, 1802).
POSITIVE ENERGY LINE IN FRONT OF VILENICA CAVE
On the meadow in front of the caving society hut, you can admire stones from the Lipica quarry that have cosmograms or kinesiograms carved onto them. They are the work of artist Marko Pogačnik who works with geomancy. These symbols represent the connection between humans and the underground world. The Dragon Line (a positive energy line) also runs past the cave.
