Županova Jama - Taborska Jama

Tabor Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Grosuplje. 24 km east of Ljubljana. 8 km south of Grosuplje, near Ponova vas. Motorway Ljublajana-Novo Mesto, exit Grosuplje. Follow road into town, turn left on main road and right towards Ponova Vas and Sp. Slivnica, then again right before railroad tracks. Follow tracks, then cross them at station, at first possibility right to Ponova Vas. In Ponova Vas both roads lead to the cave. Singposted is right road, which is longer but better.
Open:	MAR Sun 15. APR to OCT Sat, Sun, Hol 15. NOV Sun 15. [2006]
Fee:
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=330 m, VR=120 m, A=442 m asl.
Guided tours:	L=610 m, St=479, D=60 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Touristic society Županova jama Grosuplje, Tel: +386-1786-13-23, 01787-22-91, Cell: 041-407-705.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1689	mentioned by Johann Weichard von Valvasor in his book Die Ehre Deß Hertzogthums Crain.
26-MAY-1926	explored by mayor Josip Perme.
1927	opened to the public.
1935	new entrance through ledenice (Ice House) inaugurated.
1937	Matjaževo dvorano (Matjaž's Hall) discovered.
1995	renamed Županova Jama.

Description

**Permetova dvorana** (Perme's Chamber).

Županova Jama (Mayor's Cave) are two caves with three names. The huge cavern in the rock below the church Tabor was known for many centuries. It was called Ledenica Jama (Ice Cave), because it is very cold and contains ice almost the whole year. The reason is its geometry, as it is going down from the entrance about 70 m with no lower exit, the cold air flows into the cave in winter, but can not get out in summer. This is a typical cold trap. This cave was mentioned by Johann Weichard von Valvasor in his book Die Ehre Deß Hertzogthums Crain.

Josip Perme, the mayor (županu) of the next village, was the first who discovered a new part of the cave. There was a small hole above the well known ice cave, which he widened. He then climbed down a rope ladder into a small cave. There were some speleothems, and the cave was much warmer than the ice cave. He explored a passage which became much wider, forming rather huge chambers with many speleothems. He discovered two chambers, today known as Permetova dvorana (Perme's Chamber) and Velika dvorana (Big Hall), which were still full of cave clay at this time.

Soon he invited a group of cave explorers from Ljubljana, who explored and surveyed the cave. They added it to the cave register with the name Županov Perme Jama (Mayor Perme's Cave). Then he forced the development of the cave, as he wanted to open it to the public. He founded a cave development association and started to build paths, ladders and light into the cave. He financed the whole development himself, and opened the cave to the public the following year.

At this time visitors still had to climb down the entrance pit. But this was very uncomfortable and dangerous. The connection to the nearby ice cave was suggested, and soon a fissure in the right direction was detected. In an imense work, which took Perme and his companions seven years, they constructed a mostly artificial connetion to the ice cave. Now the entrance through ice cave was possible, which was much more comfortable and also included the ice cave into the cave tour.

In 1937 Perme and his sons discovered another chamber. They dubbed it Matjaževo dvorano (Matjaž's Hall) as three huge flowstone pillars looked like Matjaž's throne from a local legend.

The main direction of the cavern was towards the 15th century Tabor Church, only two kilometers north on the top of a mountain. Thus the cave was renamed Taborska Jama during World War II. The church is fortified like a castle and well worth a visit. The name Taborska Jama is still found in older guidebooks and on weathered road signs. But in 1995 the cave was renamed to the original name Županova Jama.

Županova Jama is - compared to other Slovenian caves - a small cave. Little tourists, open only on weekends for a single tour, but it is a hidden treasure. The formations in this cave are normal stalctites and stalagmites, only a few curtains and draperies, nothing special or exotic. But the quality is so extraordinary, we have rarely seen a more beautiful cave.

Nearby is the Radensko Polje, the smallest polje of Slovenia. Despite its small size, it shows all the typical features of a polje, for example the the ponors (swallow holes) where the water leaves this valley. Speleologists have discovered a big cave, Zatocne Jame behind one of those ponors. It can only be entered during times of low water.

A Cave Visit in 1981

A Cave Visit in 2003