Vilenica, the fairy cave that was already taking visitors in 1633

The world’s first show cave

According to its website, Copper Age pottery has been found at the cave entrance, a sign that it served as a shelter in prehistory. But what makes it unique is the year 1633. That was when Count Benvenuto Petazzi handed the running of the cave to the parish of Lokev and admission began to be charged, which, according to the cave, makes it the world’s first show cave. A door was fitted at the entrance in 1809.

Until the middle of the nineteenth century it was the loveliest, largest and most visited cave in the Karst. Its position helped, beside the trade route between Vienna and Trieste and very close to the stud farm at Lipica. Crowned heads came this way as a result, from Emperor Leopold I in 1660 to Ferdinand I of Naples in 1790 and the emperors Leopold II and Francis I.

What you see inside

The cave formed in the Cretaceous limestone of the Lipica formation and runs as a single sloping gallery, full of formations and rockfalls. Four chambers are visited, the Ballroom, the Avenue of Stalactites, the Red Hall and the Fairy Hall, along a prepared route of about 450 m. It is 8 to 10°C inside, with humidity close to 100%, the same all year round.

The name comes from «vile», fairies, because people believed good fairies lived in the cave. The Ballroom is also used as a cultural venue, and every year the Vilenica international literary prize is presented there.

Opening times: Sundays and holidays only

For individual visitors Vilenica opens from 1 April to 31 October, on Sundays and public holidays at 3pm, and the Karst Tourist Office adds daily tours at 11am and 3pm in August. From 1 November to 31 March it is closed to individuals, while groups of more than ten can come all year by appointment. Tickets are bought at the Jože Gustinčič speleological house, in front of the cave, in cash only, or online.

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Getting to Lokev

The cave is beside Lokev, about ten minutes from the motorway. Leave at Sežana east, cross Sežana towards Lipica and, past the turning for the stud, a signed road on the left takes you in 100 m to the free car park. By train, go to Sežana, from where an easy path over the Sedovnik saddle reaches the cave in an hour and a half. For the other caves, see caves in Slovenia. It is one of those Slovenia facts that hardly anyone knows.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Sežana for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.