BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA / BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
VJETRENICA
A Cave
Foto: Adnan Bubalo
Fairies Used to Live in
STUNNING BEAUTY, SPACIOUS CORRIDORS AND CHAMBERS, UNDERGROUND WATERS AND WATERFALLS, AND THE WIND THAT KEEPS BLOWING ALL THE TIME MAKE THIS CAVE RATHER UNIQUE ON A GLOBAL SCALE. LEGEND HAS IT THAT FAIRIES USED TO LIVE IN IT. THEIR VOICES CAN STILL BE HEARD. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CAVE IN B&H Decorated with spacious corridors, chambers, waterfalls, several permanent streams and small recurrent flows with underground lakes, Vjetrenica is one of the world’s most beautiful and longest caves. It was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century. He described it as “an unnamed cave famous for a strong wind at its entrance” in the world’s first scientific encyclopaedia called Natural History which was completed way back in 77 AD. On the right-hand side of the entrance to the cave there are two carved stones, typical for medieval tombstones that are scattered throughout the country. Carvings depict deer hunting scenes and knights engaging in combat. Some of these drawings are estimated to be 10,000 years old. The most important archaeological discoveries found in the 64
cave are the remains of a cave bear and a now-extinct leopard. Vjetrenica, which means “wind cave”, owes its name to a fascinating phenomenon that was observed there—a strong blast of cold air, or “wind”, which blows from its entrance. But it is not a wind that the cave produces; rather, it is a physical phenomenon. The air strongly circulates from the cave interior to the exit to counterbalance the constant, internal temperature inside the cave, with the changing temperature of the air outside.
THE MOST BIO-DIVERSE CAVE IN THE WORLD Vjetrenica is the most bio-diverse cave in the world. It is home to nearly 230 animal species, the bestknown of which is the olm (Proteus anguinus), an endemic species also known as “čoviječija ribica” (which literally translates as “human
fish”, since the coluor of its skin resembles human skin). The most systematic biological research of Vjetrenica was conducted from 1912 to 1922 by a Czech scientist named Karel Absolon. A channel in which fog frequently forms was named after him (Absolon’s Channel). From 1924 to 1929, Mihajlo S. Radovanović conducted speleological research there as well, created a detailed map of the cave, and produced the first monograph on Vjetrenica Cave.
NOMINATED FOR INSCRIPTION ON THE UNESCO LIST Vjetrenica was developed for tourism purposes even before 1964. It became a protected natural monument in 1952, and it was categorised as a special geological reserve in 1965. In 2004, Vjetrenica was nominated for inscription on the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage List.
