Škocjan Caves

Škocjan Caves

|Unreferenced|date=March 2008Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Škocjan Caves

State Party = SLO
Type = Natural
Criteria = vii, viii
ID = 390
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1986
Session = 10th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/390

Škocjan Caves (Slovene "Škocjanske jame"; _it. Grotte di San Canziano; _de. Höhlen von St. Kanzian) is a system of limestone caves in the Kras (Karst) region in southwestern Slovenia, containing collapsed dolines, about five kilometres of underground passages, caves more than 200 metres deep and many waterfalls. This is one of the best-known sites in the world for the study of karstic (limestone) phenomena.

Škocjan Caves have been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1986.

Between the myth and the history

The Reka River disappears underground at Velika Dolina into Skocjan Cave (Škocjanske jame) and then flows underground for 34 km towards the Adriatic Sea surfacing near Monfalcone where it becomes the source of the Timavo River. The view of the big river, in the rainy season as it disappears underground, on the bottom of Velika Dolina, 160 m under the surface, is both majestic and frightening. The region of Skocjan Caves Park is archeologically extremely rich, indications are that it was inhabited since more than ten thousand years before the present. A valuable treasure of archeological findings in 'Mušja Jama' indicate the influence of the Greek civilization, where a cave temple was located after the end of the Bronze Age and in the Iron Age. This region was certainly one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in Europe, three thousand years ago, especially in the Mediterranean where it was of important cult significance in connection with the afterlife and communication with the spirits of the ancestors.

External links

* [http://www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/ Park Škocjanske Jame official website]
* [http://dheera.net/photos/thumb.php?q=europe/skocjan Photos of the Škocjan Caves]
*http://www.mojaslovenija.si/QTVR/SkocjanskeJame/Uvod.html


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