Predjama Things to Do

Opening hours:
November-February 10:00-16:00
(Saturdays and Sundays 10:00-17:00); March, April, and October 10:00-17:00;
May and September 9:00-18:00;
June-August 9:00-19:00.

Tours of the cave beneath the castle:
May-August at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, or by prior arrangement.
Several-hour explorations of the East Tunnel and the Erazem Tunnel are also possible by prior arrangement.

The photo shows the amazing scenery just infront of the castle, so that you can see what's the sight is like looking out FROM the Castle.

Anyway, continue with the story :
In the autumn of 1483, the Austrian army attacked the Castle but it was a hard feat for months !
Erazem was having a party in the Castle.
One day, while having a 'go' in the toilet, he was hit by the cannon.
A servant had betrayed his boss by marking the location with a small flag for the Austrian soldiers to fire a cannon on the unsuspecting 'sat-on-the-throne-for-the-last-time' (THE TOILET BOWL) king of robbers !

The history of this castle is really a good story to tell.
It was built in the centre of a cliff 123 m high.
There's a robber baron by the name of Erazem Lueger (like Robin Hood before him) like to rob wagons in the deep forest & handed them to the poor. Stupid or what ?
During the war between the Hungarians & the Austrians, Lueger supported the former.
He holed himself up in the castle & continued his 'good-doings' through a secret passage that led out from the rock wall.

The Predjama Castle, a medieval castle perched on a gaping mouth on a hillside is a sight to be seen with our own eyes.
It is situated about 9 km north-west of Postojna.
It is a 4 storey castle & the castle that we can see today is derived from the 16th century although some structures could be dated at a much earlier time, 13th century.

These lovely ground are representative of the rolling countryside around Predjama. Just beautiful to my eyes. Reminds me a lot of southwestern Wisconsin (except there are not many castles in Wisconsin).

It is obvious that this castle was easily defended against marauding enemies. Apparently, one prince or duke was besieged for many months. The defenders of the castle taunted their attackers which infuriated the invaders. Even more infuriating was the fact that the occupants of the castle seemed to be well fed even though the hostile troops thought they had cut off lines of supply. There is a labyrinth of caves in the Predjama region and the defenders of the castle were able to spelunk their way to the nearby towns and villages to get their supplies and food.

The story ends on a macabre note: one day the duke was relieving himself on the commode when a lucky shot from a catapault did him in.

I am a fanatic when it comes to castles. Slovenia has quite a few small but interesting castles. This one at Predjama must be the most unique.

It is built into the side of the cliff. When touring the interior you find that the castle has no rear walls. The rock forms the fourth wall for any rooms that are in the rear. It is quite interesting.

An old catapult, sadly no longer functional, I'd like to see one working.