Škocjan Caves ID
| Name: | The Škocjan Caves |
| Address: | Classical Karst, Slovenia, Europe |
| Age: | Several million years |
| Protected area: | 413 hectares |
| Area of influence of the Park: | 45 000 hectares |
| Number of inhabitants in the Park: | 67 |
| Managing authority: | Javni zavod park Škocjanske jame, Slovenija |
| Address: | Škocjan 2, 6215 Divaca Telephone: +386 (0)5 70 82 100 Fax: +386 (0)5 70 82 105 E-mail: #EM#696f646c4475756d267a63#EM# |
World heritage site since 1986.
Regional Park since 1996.
Underground wetland (Ramsar) since 1999.
Karst biosphere reserve (MAB) since 2004.
Basic information on the caves:
| Length: | 6,200 metres (all cave passages) |
| Depth: | 223 metres (from the surface to the lowest point) |
| Highest point: | 435 metres (the Crown Princess Stephanie viewpoint) |
| Lowest point: | 212 metres (Dead Lake) |
| Temperature in the caves: | 12°C in dry areas, 0-20°C in areas with flowing water |
| Air humidity: | 80-100 % |
| The most interesting stalactite formations in the caves: | Paradise – flowstone deposits; the Organ Hall – stalactite formation in the form of organ; Great Hall – giant stalagmites; Rimstone Pools' Hall – large rimstone pools |
| The largest stalagmite: | Giant - in the Great Hall, 15 metres in height |
| Cave animals: | Large nursery colonies of several bat species, world-famous cave salamander (Proteus anguinus), endemic species of underground crustaceans and beetles |
| Disappearing river: | Reka River |
| Reka River flow: | min. 0.03 m3/s max. over 380 m3/s on average around 9 m3/s |
| Number of waterfalls in the caves: | 26 |
| Last flood in the caves: | 1965 – 108 metres in height (10 metres above the Cerkvenik Bridge) |
| Length of all old passages in the caves: | app. 12,000 metres |
| Height of the Cerkvenik Bridge (in the cave): | 47 metres above the Reka River |
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Outstanding features of the Škocjan Caves system:
| Underground canyon of the Reka River: | 2,600 metres in length, from 10 to 60 metres wide, up to 146 metres in height |
| One of the largest underground chambers in Europe: | Martel Chamber – 2.2 milllion m3, 146 metres in height, 120 metres wide and 300 metres long |
| Rimstone pools: | Large dimensions |
| Natural bridges: | Between Velika and Mala dolina, natural bridge in Mala dolina |
| Natural windows: | Natural windows in the Mahorčič Cave and on the bottom of the Okroglica abyss |
| Waterfalls and rapids: | Thirty (30) up to 10 metres high waterfalls and rapids |
| Collapse dolines: | Active – Velika dolina and Mala dolina; Fossil - Lisična, Sapendol, Sokolak, Globočak, Mali dol, Dol Jablanc, Lesendol, Lazni dol and Bušljevec |
Natural monuments:
| The Škocjan Caves system: | Caves, passages and dolines that form the Škocjan Caves system |
| Velika dolina: | Collapse dolina, 163 metres in depth from the viewpoint to the Reka River sinkhole |
| Mala dolina: | Collapse dolina, 120 metres deep |
| Okroglica abyss: | In the village of Škocjan, 116 metres deep |
| Walls and banks of the Reka River valley: | The largest blind valley in Slovenia, up to 100 metre-deep gorge |
Tourism:
| First documented visits to Velika dolina: | 2nd half of the 18th century |
| The carving of the first tourist trails: | Velika dolina, 1823 |
| Start of visits to Velika dolina: | Since the 18th century |
| Visitor's book: | Since 1819 |
| First tourist trails in the cave: | 1884-1906 |
| Reconstruction of the Cerkvenik Bridge: | 2003 |
| Electricity in the cave: | Since 1959 |
| Current length of the tourist trail: | Around 3,000 metres and around 500 stair steps |
| Inclined elevator from Velika dolina: | Since 1986, approx. 90 metres of difference in altitude |
| Number of visitors per year: | Approximately 90,000 (in 2006) |
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History of exploration
| First written references on the Škocjan Caves: | Poseidonius of Apamea, around 60 B.C. |
| First tracing experiment: | 1599, Imperato |
| The Mahorčič Cave: | 1815, Eggenhofer |
| The Rudolf Hall: | 1839, Jakob Svetina, Ivan Rudolf |
| The Müller Hall: | 1851, Adolf Schmidl |
| First map of the cave: | 1888, Anton Hanke |
| Mrtvo jezero (siphon): | 1890, A. Hanke, F. Müller, J. Marinič, P. Antončič, brothers Cerkvenik |
| Tiha jama: | 1904, Anton, Franc in Jože Cerkvenik, Jože Nedoh |
| Discovery of new parts of the cave behind siphon Mrtvo jezero: | 1991, Janko Brajnik, Samo Morel |
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Archaeological sites
| Škocjan hillfort: | Prehistorical hillfort – Late Bronze and Iron Ages, Antiquity |
| Velika jama na Prevali (the Mušja Cave): | Cave site - sacrificial activities, Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, Antiquity |
| Necropolis below Brežec: | Flat cremation burial site – late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age |
| Tominčeva Cave: | Cave stronghold, skeletal remains at a burial site – the Eneolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Antiquity |
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Other interesting points in the Park
| Museum collections: | Ethnographic collection, archaeological collection, biological collection, the history of exploring the Škocjan Caves, in Škocjan |
| Cultural monuments: | The villages of Škocjan and Betanja, Church of Sv. Kancijan |
| Education trail: | Around Velika and Mala dolina, through the villages of Betanja, Škocjan and Matavun |
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Prepaired by: Samo Šturm, Tomaž Zorman, Borut Peric