Mežakla in Triglav National Park
Mežakla, like a decorated plateau, rises above the Upper Sava Valley in a mighty way. It is part of the Triglav National Park. A stroll through Mežakla reveals a variety of natural and cultural attractions that make it worthwhile to visit at any time of year.
Natural bridge on Mežakla
The natural bridge on Mežakla tells a great story between limestone and water.
The slopes on the northern side of Mežakla are very steep, and a lot of rock material crumbles and falls due to weathering. The erosive action of water and the weathering of rocks of varying resistance resulted in the formation of a natural bridge just below the northern edge of Planski vrh. The left side of the arch extends wide into the side ridge, while an elegant arch bridges the steep ravine on the right. The limestone formation is most likely a more durable remnant of the former cave ceiling. The bridge is estimated to be 15 metres long, with a 3-metre-wide arch rising up to 8 metres above the ravine's bottom. Some refer to it as the "elephant" because of its distinctive shape.
Some harbingers of mountain spring, such as the nine-leafed anemone (Dentaria enneaphyllos) or the three-leafed anemone, can be found near the natural bridge (Anemone trifolia). The protected Bear's ear (Primula auricula) and Winter heath (Erica carnea) grow on the rocks of the steep northern slope.
Poljanska baba
Petrified hard-hearted beauty
A solitary rock formation that rises above Kočna or Poljane is 4 metres high towards the slope and 8 metres high towards the valley. It resulted from the weathering of rocks of various degrees of hardness that stand out as protruding towers, horns or buttes. Poljanska baba is the remains of the thickest layer of Anisian dolomite. In the autumn of 1995, a large part of its head broke off. This was caused by frost that crept into the cracks, which were widened by the roots of a pine tree that had been growing right on top of the head for many years.
In the past, when trying to understand the creation of solitary buttes, people turned to supernatural powers. Depending on their shape people named them "baba", "dedec", "možic", "zob" or "igla" and "turn". The most famous tale of Poljanska baba was written in the Ljubljanski zvon magazine in 1879 by Dr. Matevž Tonejc.
"They were hunting one day in autumn, my grandmother told me, on St. Michael's day, and farmers had to spur on the beast with the hounds they were given by the gentry. The hunters were positioned around the woods and well-protected so they needed not fear any beasts. The farmers did the chasing. The lord’s daughter was also hunting; she stood up there where she still stands today. Standing on the rock she saw a wild beast grab an already wounded old man, a drover, and killed him. She could have saved him from dying, but the fight in which the old man had to pass, was so much to her liking that she refused to help and even the servant, who was standing next to the young woman with a weapon, was not allowed to help him. In an instant, the woman turned to rock as this is what her heart was made of. She continues to stand there today and will stand there until her saviour is born. But before that happens, all spruce trees in Mežakla will be cut down nine times and nine times other ones will grow. The largest among them will have nine tops and the seed of the middle one will self-seed. From the seed, a spruce will grow above the Sava River, from which the wood for a crib will be cut, the crib of nine sons from one mother who will not have a sister. The youngest among the sons will save the rock-hard, petrified daughter." Dr. Matevž Tonejc.
Snow Cave
Enter the magical underworld
Mežakla is mainly composed of limestone and dolomite, and in some places marlstone and sandstone. Such a composition of rocks led to the creation of a typical Karst relief with numerous smaller and larger sinkholes. The cave lies at an altitude of 1,109 m and is 70 m long and 20 m deep. There are two entrances, the western diagonal entrance and the eastern vertical entrance. They are separated by a natural bridge. In the cave, which features a Karst sinkhole, low passages and a hall, there are numerous limestone formations, and water can be found in its gable.
Over the winter, a lot of snow accumulates in the sinkhole. Due to its shaded position and cooler air, snow and ice are preserved for a long period of time. According to locals, the cave was once used to collect ice for obtaining water for shepherds and forest workers. During the second world war, partisans used it for storing food.
You may enter the cave at your own risk, but we recommend that you arrange a tour with the Caving Society Gorje.
More information: Caving Society Simon Zima Gorje
Jesenice meteorite location
Chondrite, older than Earth
A loud bang woke up the residents of the Upper Sava valley and Austria's Carinthia region on April 9, 2009, at 3 a.m., and eyewitnesses saw a very bright flash in the sky. Sky meteor cameras detected a shine up to 30 times greater than that of the full moon. All of this was a consequence of a meteorite entering the atmosphere at a speed of 14 km/s. The meteorite exploded in the atmosphere and fell on the wider Mežakla area, measuring around 800 hectares. Only three pieces were found: the first largest piece named BOJO was discovered by Jožef Pretnar and Bojana Krajnc on May 17, 2009; the second piece was discovered on August 27, 2009, by Danijel Repe; and the third was found on June 21, 2009, by Germans Ralph Sporn and Martin Neuhofer. A scientific analysis found that the meteorite circulated between Mars and Jupiter for about 4.5 billion years.
The Jesenice meteorite is only the eleventh meteorite in the world whose orbit has been precisely calculated by astronomers. With its astronomical data it therefore represents an outstanding object in the geological heritage of Slovenia.
You can see the described natural attractions on the A stroll along the Mežakla plateau.
