Predjamski grad

Our next stop on our day-long tour was Predjamski grad, the castle built into a cave. When you have a large karst section in your country, cave is what you do.



The first written record of this castle is in 1274. It was expanded by the Knights of Adelsberg, which is German for the Slovenia, Postojna.

By being built in the entrance to a large cave system, it is cold and humid inside. this means that essentially nothing is left from the old days that isn't stone. But the restoration is done well and there are sections, as you will see, recently refurbished and decorated to remind of days gone by.

But, as you can imagine, it is a place filled with stairs.

In the innermost sections, the building gives way to cave and there is just a hole in the mountain. This played a crucial role in a notorious event. According to Wikipedia:

The castle became known as the seat of the knight Erasmus of Lueg (or Luegg, Luegger), lord of the castle in the 15th century and a renowned robber baron. He was the son of the imperial governor of Trieste, Nikolaj Lueger.

According to legend, Erasmus came into conflict with the Habsburgs when he killed the commander of the imperial army, Marshal Pappenheim, who had offended the honour of Erasmus's deceased friend and famous condottiere Andrej Baumkircher of Vipava. Fleeing the vengeance of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, Erasmus reached the family fortress of Predjama. From there, he allied himself with King Matthias Corvinus and began to attack Habsburg estates and towns in Carniola. The emperor commissioned the governor of Trieste, Andrej Ravbar, with the capture or killing of Erasmus. Erasmus was killed after a long siege. According to a popular but unfounded legend, Erasmus was betrayed by one of his men and was killed by a shot from a cannon in his lavatory.^[2][3]

It is this connection to the cave that allowed Erasmus to survive a long siege. Food was brought in from another cave entrance and permitted the besieged to survive.

The lights used in the castle all fit well with the general stone decor and here is one that I found especially interesting.

In one of the rooms restored to something similar to its former glory, we see a display of armour and shields.

Looking out the window, we can see that there is a river below us. A good ways below us.

But the interior of the castle is seldom comfortable and always cold. this alcove is about as inviting a section as any in the building.