Postojna · Karst Region · Slovenia

Predjama Castle

castlecavecliffgoogle verified

easy

9/10

best: morning, afternoon

dramatic, medieval, surreal

A local would say...

A knight besieged in his cave castle received fresh food through a secret passage for a full year — the Habsburgs never figured it out.

The world's largest cave castle, built in stages from the 13th century in the gaping mouth of a 123-metre cave halfway up a sheer cliff in Slovenia's Karst region. A secret passage through the cave system allowed the rebel knight Erasmus of Lueg to hold out against a Habsburg siege for a year, resupplied from behind through the mountain. The castle lesson is clear: if you want an impregnable fortress, put it inside a cliff.