Built in the 12th century in Slovenia, Predjama Castle is carved into a 400-foot cliffside with nine miles of complex tunnels beneath it — that once helped a local 'Robin Hood' to evade capture.
At the center of a 400-foot cliff in southern Slovenia juts Predjama Castle, fortress built into a mountainside over a complex system of underground caves. Indeed, it is the largest cave castle in the world — and has stood for over 800 years.
Today, it is an immensely popular tourist attraction where people from all across the world can learn about the castle’s history, walk through its corridors, and explore the expansive Postojna cave system in which the castle is built.
And while the castle itself is a marvelous fairy tale-like wonder, its history is equally stupendous and out of the ordinary.
Predjama Castle is a frotress built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, in the historic Inner Carniola region.Mindaugas Dulinskas/Getty Images The small village of Predjama near the castle.Dragoncello/Getty Images Historical records of Predjama Castle date all the way back to the early 1200s, though it saw a revival in the 1500s.Gilad Rom/Flickr Predjama Castle is also known as "Predjamski Grad" and is near Postojna, Slovenia. Getty Images A view from Predjama Castle of the road leading up to the front entrance.Sura Ark/Getty Images The former barracks now hold relics of medieval armor and weapons used by knights of the era.Tamaar/Flickr The drawbridge leads to the main courtroom, once the final stop for most visitors to the castle. Shadowgate/Wikimedia Commons Cannonballs, the likes of which would have been fired from the third floor armaments.János Korom/Wikimedia Commons The jousting field, where modern reenactments of the medieval tournaments are held. Phyrexian/Wikimedia Commons The nine-mile cave system beneath Predjama Castle is also home to a large colony of bats. Mondadori Portfolio/Archivio Claudia Beretta/Claudia Beretta A view of the valley from Predjama Castle.Mondadori Portfolio/Archivio Claudia Beretta/Claudia Beretta A coat of arms on the gothic façade of Predjama Castle.Shadowgate/Flickr Predjama Castle illuminated at night.UNIS Vienna/Flickr A cannon on the castle's third floor where other armaments and "murder holes" were put in place to defend the caste against besiegers.Shadowgate/Flickr A bedroom in Predjama Castle.Andrew Rees/Flickr The entrance to the Karst Caverns of carved limestone.Phyrexian/Wikimedia Commons The torture chamber was quite literally nothing more than a small holding area and pit within the large, complex cave system behind Predjama Castle. It was accessible directly from the main courtroom.Leonardo/Flickr The Karst Caves walkway from beneath. Mondadori Portfolio/Archivio Claudia Beretta/Claudia Beretta The church of Our Lady of Sorrows, where the body of the knight Erazem was buried and a linden tree now stands. RokaB/Getty Images Examples of full armor suits in the castle's armory museum.Andrew Rees/Flickr The hallway leading to the third floor terrace and outhouse. Shadowgate/Flickr The cave entrance from inside. Shadowgate/Wikimedia Commons A view of the traversable cave walkways from the top entrance. Shadowgate/Wikimedia Commons The surrounding, idyllic town of Predjama during the winter. Leandro Neumann Ciuffo/Flickr The cave stairs from the bottom. Tiia Monto/Wikimedia Commons The shop inside Predjama Castle, where visitors can buy a variety of memorabilia. Shadowgate/Flickr A photo of Predjama Castle taken just after sunset during the blue hour.UNIS Vienna/Flickr
The Wild History Of Predjama Castle, The Medieval Fortress Built Into The Mouth Of A Cave View GalleryThe Storied History Of Predjama Castle
Though records of the inimitable Predjama Castle date back to 1202, the most famous of its historical inhabitants was the 15th-century knight, Erazem Lueger — also known as Erasmus of Lueg.
According to Lonely Planet, Lueger, much like the fabled Robin Hood, was a legendary robber-baron, stealing from the wealthy and giving to the poor. When Austria and Hungary went to war during the late 1400s, it is said that Lueger placed his allegiance with the latter.
After a duel against the Imperial Marshal of the Austrian Habsburg Court, Count Pappenheim, Erazem fled to Predjama Castle wherein he awaited the inevitable Austrian retaliation that would seek to draw him out.
In the meantime, however, he continued his Robin Hood deeds, sneaking out of the castle through a secret passage hidden in the rock wall connecting the castle to the nearly nine miles of caves behind it.
ItinariConsidered the largest cave castle in the world, Predjama sits atop a complex cavern system that's nine miles long.
The Austrians came in 1484, attempting to lay siege to the castle — but to no avail.
The castle proved to be impenetrable, and in a display of boisterous confidence, Erazem stood above the besieging army and allegedly showered them with fresh cherries from the nearby valley.
Unfortunately for Erazem, one of his servants had taken a disliking to him, and one year and one day after the Austrian army began their attack, the servant betrayed him.
Erazem ventured to the third-floor latrine, which sat suspended over a cliff, and just as he was finishing his last bowel movement, a cannonball soared through the air and collided with the outhouse, killing Erazem as he sat on the toilet.
All it took was his servant lighting a torch to indicate to the Austrian army where Erazem was.
Legend tells that Erazem was then buried in the cemetery of a nearby church, Our Lady of Sorrows, where a linden tree stands to this day.
The Impressive Layout Inspires Fiction
Marion Golsteijn/Wikimedia CommonsA portrait of the knight, Erazem of Predjama — a Robin Hood of his day who met an untimely end on the toilet.
Naturally, part of Predjama Castle's appeal is the large cave system that sits behind it, which has been carved out over the years and inlaid with stairs and railings to make the cave system safer to traverse.
This extensive limestone cave system is known as the "Karst" Caves, a variation of the Latin name Carsus, given to the plateau above Trieste.
Modern-day Predjama Castle, while structurally the same as it was during Erazem's time, serves a very different purpose.
Visitors exploring Predjama Castle now enter across a drawbridge to the courtroom, with open access to each of the castle's corridors and rooms. Back in the day, though, most visitors never made it past the courtroom — and those who did were likely unlucky.
A thick wooden door in the courtroom provides access the the torture chamber. While no siege has been lain to the castle in recent years, the nearly six-feet-thick walls stand as a testament to the castle's strength. The former barracks inside have been converted into an armory and museum.
DeAgostini/Getty ImagesEntrance way to Predjama Castle, nestled within the large cave and overlooking a steep cliff.
On the third floor of the castle is an open terrace that allows visitors to look out over the valley and village below. There are also "murder holes" like gun loops and arrow slits — as well as others which were used to pour boiling oil or molten resin onto besiegers.
Given the castle's long, fabled history and fascinating construction, it's easy to see why Predjama Castle inspired author George R.R. Martin to incorporate a similar structure in Game of Thrones' Westeros after he visited Predjama in June 2011.
After exploring Predjama Castle, take a look inside Dracula's infamous castle. Or, explore the history of the Caerlaverock Castle, the mighty Scottish fortress with 800 years of history inside.
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