Megan Shersby explores one of the world’s most spectacular caves, Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave is world-famous and is located in Slovenian’s karst region – a limestone plateau that stretches from southwest Slovenia to northeast Italy.
The cave was carved by the Pivka River across millions of years, and many parts of the cave system are still flooded. Graffiti dating to 1213 shows that the caves have been used by humans for centuries.
How big is Postojna Cave?
The Postojna Cave system is over 24km long, with at least four caves, connected by the river, and home to a variety of breathtaking rock formations, and to the secretive ‘dragons’.
What is Postojna Cave most famous for?
Postojna Cave is famous for its five-metre-tall bright-white stalagmite called Brilliant.
Postojna Cave, and the surrounding cave system, is also famous for the unusual number of species adapted to live in this ecosystem, including the mysterious olm – the secret dragons.
Postojna Cave wildlife
Alongside the olm, there are over 100 other troglobites in Postojna, including spiders, pseudoscorpions and shrimp.
In fact, the first ever troglobite described by science – the slenderneck beetle or blind cave beetle, Leptodirus hochenwartii – was from Postojna. First discovered by cave lamplighter Luka Cec, the beetle was passed on to Count Franz Josef von Hochenwart – who was creating a guidebook to the caves – who passed it on to beetle expert Ferdinand Schmidt.
“It did not take long for Schmidt to realise this was a true troglobite,” explains Katja Dolenc Batagelj from Postojna Cave management. “The scientific circles were thrilled by the discovery and, because of the beetle and further discoveries, Postojna Cave became known as the cradle of a new science – speleobiology, the study of subterranean animals.”
The slenderneck beetle is referred to as the first troglobite to be labelled as such, because it was described in reference to its habitat. When olms were first scientifically described by Josephus Nicolaus Luarenti in 1768, the olms had been found outside of caves, when they had been washed out by high waters.
How has the slenderneck beetle adapted to cave-living?
The slenderneck beetle also exhibits a number of adaptations for its cave-dwelling lifestyle. Like the olm, it has an extended lifespan compared to its surface-dwelling relatives and is also eyeless. It lacks any pigment, with its brown colour coming from the chitin in its exoskeleton. Its elongated antennae and tiny sensory hairs help it to move around the cave and, as it doesn’t need to fly, its elytra, or wing-cases, are fused together to create a dome, which allows it to regulate moisture.
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Is Postojna Cave open to the public?
Yes, Postojna Cave is open to the public all year round. Find out more
