Pekel cave
Encyclopedia
Pekel Cave is a karst cave
near Šempeter v Savinjski dolini
in Slovenia
. The cave is known as Jama Pekel (Hell Cave) because one of the rocks near the entrance was thought to look like the Devil.
.
bones in the cave prove that the cave was used as a shelter by these early inhabitants of Europe. The cave was opened to the public in 1860, when the first wooden footbridges were built. Since 1972 the cave has been managed by the local tourist association.
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
near Šempeter v Savinjski dolini
Šempeter v Savinjski dolini
Šempeter v Savinjski Dolini is a village in the municipality of Žalec in east-central Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Savinja River to the east of Žalec. The Slovenian A1 motorway crosses the territory of the settlement to the northwest of the village core. The area is part of the...
in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. The cave is known as Jama Pekel (Hell Cave) because one of the rocks near the entrance was thought to look like the Devil.
Description
The cave is 1,159 m long and has two levels. Peklenščica Creek runs through the caverns of the lower part of the cave and comes bursting out of a siphon as the highest-elevation accessible subterranean waterfall in Slovenia. The upper part of the cave is dry, but full of cave formationsSpeleothem
A speleothem , commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave. Speleothems are typically formed in limestone or dolostone solutional caves.-Origin and composition:...
.
History
The cave is more than 3 million years old. Finds of NeanderthalNeanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
bones in the cave prove that the cave was used as a shelter by these early inhabitants of Europe. The cave was opened to the public in 1860, when the first wooden footbridges were built. Since 1972 the cave has been managed by the local tourist association.
Sources
- Kuhar, Ivo, 1974: Kraška jama Pekel. Savinjski zbornik. 344-350