Predjama Castle in Slovenia: Let the Lutes Play

It has been more than a month since I provided the last virtual vacation, so here is a new one for those of you who need a break from real life.  This post is a special dedication to my friend, S.A., who deserves (and would genuinely appreciate) a castle more than anyone I know.

I am not an expert on the Renaissance era, but I do know that as I approached the small parking area for Predjama Castle, I could hear the lute music (or maybe it was harpsichord) in my mind.  This Renaissance castle is located outside the town of Postojna in western Slovenia.  The palace is typically referred to as a “renaissance” structure because the 15^th and 16^th centuries were its heyday.  In fact, though, the earliest written mentions of it go all the way back to 1274.  It is unfortunate that descriptions of historic places contain the phrase “breath-taking” so often that it has lost its impact because Predjama is breath-taking.  Standing in the parking area down the slope from the castle and looking up at the looming structure, there is simply no way to avoid gasping in pure awe.

Predjama is billed as the best-preserved cave castle in the world.  It was built into the mouth of a cave teetering on a cliff face.  In fact, “predjama” means “in front of the cave.”  There are many places inside, where the raw, untouched mountain stone serves as a wall.  For less than 14 euros each, my husband and I were able to tour the interior.  Despite the fact that we were there on a bitterly cold, twenty-five-degree, February morning, it was worth every euro.  I admit it took some stamina to see this attraction in such cold weather, but I actually think it was better that way.  It is a truer picture of life in previous centuries.  The front of the castle overlooks a sweeping valley, and while I have no doubt that the valley would be beautiful when green, there is nothing that can compare to the drama of seeing it while white.  Seeing the valley while snow-covered gives the visitor a much better understanding of why choosing to build here in the first place was a strategic and brilliant decision.  It is nearly impossible to approach the castle from any angle without being seen.  The tiny figure you see in the photo below is my husband tromping through three feet of snow to get a picture looking up at the castle from the bottom of the valley approach.

I will say, however, that if you have ever had any romantic fantasies about living in a castle, you were wrong.  You were very wrong.  Living in a Renaissance castle is a decidedly unromantic life.  In Slovenia, at least, it is a cold life. It took us over two hours to tour the entire property while bundled in winter coats, gloves, and hats pulled tightly down over our ears.  When we finally emerged from the castle two hours later, teeth chattering, we discovered that the ambient temperature outside was a little warmer than the temperature inside.  The mountain stone holds onto that cold.  Perhaps stone castles in the tropics are a good idea for natural air-conditioning but, in the Slovenian mountains, they are not ideal.

A self-guided audio tour begins at the entrance in the lower right corner of the castle.  The audio tour is available in many languages and is included with your admission fee.  We put on our headphones, buried our gloved hands into our jacket pockets, and began to trek. The tour gives a complete picture of life in this castle.  Visitors view several bedrooms and parlor areas where the family spent time. These areas are the most misleading.  As you can see from the photo below, the room appears almost luxurious.  It is a fully finished bedroom, much like we would expect today.  Don’t be fooled.  Many areas of the castle are much more primitive.

The kitchen was not as large as I expected it to be.  While the huge open fireplace (with raw mountain wall) can accommodate multiple fires at once, it is still hard to imagine feeding all the inhabitants of such a large property out of this one area.   

We were even able to see the onsite courtroom where verdicts on various crimes were rendered.  In that same space, we stood on a mezzanine and looked down to the original dungeon below.  Here the organizers have taken special care to make the juiciest parts of history come alive.  There are realistic mannequins chained up rather than just an empty room to view.

During our tour, we climbed and wound our way through the structure using narrow, crooked (and always original) staircases.  As we listened to our pre-recorded guide, read the interpretive panels in each room, and progressed through the structure, we were unaware that we had climbed to the top and rear of the castle.  The final breath-taking (sorry, heart-stopping?) wallop that this fortress delivers is that our tour ended inside the massive multi-level cave in which the castle was constructed.  This allows visitors to see the secret stairs and tunnels that the owners used to smuggle supplies over and through the mountain during a siege. It is simply a history lesson that we will never forget. 

Our visit to Predjama remains one of our favorite experiences out of all our travels thus far. In my opinion, this one attraction alone is reason enough to travel to Slovenia.  As an American, I don’t feel that I ever learned much about Slovenia until Melania Trump became our First Lady (she is from there).  That’s a real shame.  It is a lovely country with stunning historic sites, excellent food and kind people.  I look forward to exploring more cities there someday.