The Željnske Caves are one of the most intriguing and at the same time most fragile karst phenomena of the Kočevje region. Beneath the slopes of the Kočevski Rog, a horizontal cave system stretches for roughly 1,600 meters, carrying the waters of the Rudniški potok. The stream flows underground toward Podturn, where it reappears in the Radeščica, a tributary of the Krka River.
The caves lie surprisingly close to the surface. Their ceilings are only two to five meters thick, which has caused numerous collapses over the centuries. These collapses divided what was once a single cave system into three separate groups of passages. Despite this fragmentation, the Željnske Caves still swallow the waters of nearby streams and channel them underground toward the Krka.
A distinctive feature of the Željnske Caves, well known to anyone familiar with the harsh winters of Kočevsko, are the ice stalactites. In cold winters, the entrance sections transform into shimmering halls of ice—tall frozen columns, delicate curtains, and translucent formations created by slow dripping water that freezes layer by layer. These ephemeral sculptures give the caves a unique, almost magical winter character.
The best‑known and most accessible part of the system is Ciganska jama. In its entrance section, the thin ceiling collapsed several times, creating a series of natural windows that give the cave a dramatic and almost fairy‑tale appearance. The cave was named after the Roma who used it as shelter or as a stable for their horses. Yet human presence in the Željnske Caves reaches far deeper into the past.
The caves are an important archaeological site, with evidence of continuous use from the Iron Age back to the Paleolithic. Nearly 20,000 years ago, Ice Age hunters established a temporary hunting station here. Excavations carried out between 1963 and 1976 uncovered charcoal remains, animal bones, and a rich collection of stone tools. These artifacts are fragments of lives lived in a time of dramatic climatic shifts.
In earlier times, the entire system was passable, but today, passage is impossible. The Rudniški potok has deposited large amounts of coal dust into the caves, turning into thick, viscous mud that blocks the passages. This sediment has severely damaged the cave ecosystem. Despite this, the Željnske Caves remain an essential part of Slovenia’s natural heritage and have been declared a natural monument of local significance.
The first comprehensive visual record of the Željnske Caves was made in 2000. Later winter visits revealed another face of the caves—the icy, fragile, almost ethereal one. This delicate work of lighting was carried out with the help of my older daughter, Neža, whose steady hands and quiet patience made it possible to capture the fleeting beauty of the winter cave.