Slovenia: Predjama Castle

Predjama Castle

The impregnable Predjama Castle sits built into the face of a rock cliff in western Slovenia. From the approach road the view of the Renaissance exterior of the fortress is impressive. On the inside the fortress’s structure is integrated into a natural cave. The deeper one penetrates the more cave-like the castle becomes: The fortresses inner recesses are a minimally modified natural cave.

The television travel guide Rick Steves visited the exterior of Predjama Castle on a segment of his Slovenia broadcast and had this to say:

“While there’s little reason to go inside, the castle makes an ideal spot for a scenic drink.”

That seems an odd assessment to us, particularly given that it takes some effort to reach Predjama Castle. If you are there most would be willing to pay the reasonable price of admission to tour the inside and learn about its quirky history. And really, there aren’t many times one has the opportunity to visit the inside of a castle integrated into a hillside cave. So why wouldn’t you want to go inside?

Entering the inner sanctum of Predjama Castle

There’s a lower entrance to the castle that wasn’t open.

Perhaps Mr. Steves was burnt out at the time of the filming of this segment. Or perhaps he just wasn’t able make arrangements to film the inside the fortress. In any event, if you find your self at Predjama Castle ignore Rick Steves and be sure to see the inside too. It’s worth it. With that Mr. Steves is right about one thing: It is a good place to have a beer.

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We visited Predjama Castle, inside and out, in October of 2018.

A fortress built into a rock cliff

An interior gun position

It’s a no drone zone

An international conflict