We saw people traveling along the main street of the village on a tractor. No businesses were situated among the peaceful buildings. And out in the country only single family homes dotted the landscape.
Slovenia is a prosperous country, and it is soon to be admitted to the European Community. The roads through it meander past lovely homes in the hills . On our way to Predjama Grad the road took some hairpin turns with family homes dotting the landscape on either side. One home precariously built at the zenith of a curve had interesting decoratons on the walls possibly to attract the attention of drivers and keep them from smashing into it.
At one point along the road we passed a monument to the dead of a war, but because I couldn't read the language, I don't know which war. I know there were some casualties in the 1991 ten day war, so it may have been for that one..
We arrived at a large empty space with a sign that said in various languages that visitors to the castle should park there. We did, and we started to walk down a road but there was no castle in sight. When we arrived at a large, whitewashed building, we began to feel that we were getting close. A perusal of the sign indicated that we were indeed getting close because the white building had been the stable and carriage house for the castle.
Turning the corner just beyond the stable, we got our first glimpse of the Predjama Grad through the yard of a home that was right there at the edge of the castle.
Predjama castle is unique in that it wasn't built on the top of a hill. Rather it was built into the side of a stone wall at the mouth of a cave. The owner of this castle was the Slovenian Robin Hood who robbed the rich and gave to the poor and he built his castle in front of the entrance to a cave so that he had a natural escape route from the castle back into the cave.
One time the castle was beseiged by an Austrian king who had the building surrounded and cut off from the rest of the world, but the hero was able to come and go as he pleased through his secret cave entrance. The Austrians could not figue out the secret when the soldiers inside the fortress began to throw fresh fish at the Austrians outside the walls. Since there was no lake within miles of the castle, the fish allowed the Austrians to realize that their blocade just wasn't working.
Since there was a secret back entrance and exit, the lord of the castle was able to go and come as he pleased, and the castle was never vanquished in battle.
Click a picture to see a larger view.