Hell Cave ( sl, Jama Pekel) is a
karst cave
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
in the settlement of
Zalog pri Šempetru in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
.
Name
Across Slovenia there are many oronyms, regional names, and
microtoponyms named ''Pekel'' or 'hell'. In folk geography, the name was used to metaphorically designate chasms, caves, shafts and other narrow, dark places; for example, in
Kropa there is an
oeconym
An oeconym, also econym, or oikonym (from el, οἶκος, , 'house, dwelling' and , , 'name') is a specific type of toponym that designates a proper name of a house or any other residential building, and in the broader sense, the term also refer ...
''Pekel'' originally referring to a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
's shop. Semantically related names in Slovenia include Devil's Hole ( sl, Vragova luknja) in the settlement of
Okrog and Devil's Ravine ( sl, Hudičev graben) in the settlement of
Parož. The cave's dark, black entrance inspired the idea that the Devil lived inside.
[Šempeter Tourist Association: History of Pekel Cave](_blank)
/ref>
Other stories of the name's origin say that one of the rocks near the entrance was thought to look like the Devil or that warm water vapour drifting from the cave in the winter had an eerie effect. See also Hell Gorge, Pekel, Maribor, and Pekel, Trebnje.
Description
The cave is 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.Šempeter Tourist Association site
/ref> The upper part of the cave is dry, but full of cave formations
A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending on ...
.
History
The cave is more than three million years old. Finds of human bones in the cave prove that the cave was used as a shelter by these early inhabitants of Europe. Wooden footbridges were set up in the cave in 1860, making it accessible to visitors.speleologist
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, as well as their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form ( speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology) ...
Anton Suwa died in the cave in 1969. In 1972 the cave was opened to the public and it was visited by 25,000 people the following year.
References
External links
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{{Navbox prehistoric caves
Limestone caves
Show caves in Slovenia
Municipality of Žalec
Landforms of Styria (Slovenia)
Neanderthal sites
Stone Age sites in Slovenia