Vjetrenica is a hydrologically active, speleological and navigable facility with as many as four watercourses, as well as more than ten other, smaller occasional watercourses with underground lakes. Located on the southern side of the Dinaric rock, with access at the very edge of Popova polje, 300 m east of the center of the village called "Zavala" with an altitude of 260 m and an air distance of 12 km to the Adriatic Sea.
- Total length of the canal: 7,013.90 meters.
- Basic direction of the cave channels: south-southeast (toward the sea).
- Wind strength during summer days: 15 meters per second.
- Average annual temperature: 11.6°C.
- Organized for tourism: until 1940.
- Extensively landscaped and electrified: 1964 in a length of 1050 m, including a pedestrian path with a total length of 1800 m.
- Since 1952, the cave has been a protected natural monument, and since 1965 in the category of special geological reserves.
- In 2004, the Vjetrenica cave was nominated for the preliminary list of UNESCO World Heritage.
History of Vjetrenica
This site was first mentioned in the middle of the 1st century AD in the work "Historia Naturalis" published by Pliny the Elder in 77 AD, and later by other authors such as Getaldić.
Systematic scientific research began only at the end of the 19th century, and was carried out by individuals such as Groller (1889), Vavrović (1893), Katzer (1903) and others.
The most extensive scientific research of the cave was carried out by the Czech scientist (biologist, geographer, speleologist, paleontologist) Karel Absolon from 1912 to 1914, when he discovered almost all the cave passages known today.
Topographic measurements and the first map of the cave were made by Serbian geographer Mihajlo Rdaovanović in 1929, while the hydrological aspects of the cave were investigated by geomorphologist Sime Milojević in 1938.
An extensive theodolite map was created in 1958 by the company Energoinvest and the Speleological Association of the Bosnian Karst.
Would you like to experience the Vjetrenica cave firsthand and enjoy a fascinating natural wonder in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Contact our partners - ERO Travel Tour Agency.
ERO Traveand teamrofessionals will create a trip according to your preferences.