Here you will find the skulls of a cave lion or a cave bear, but also cave curd. And once a year you will experience a concert here. On the slope of Čierny vrch above the village of Pružina there is an entrance to one of the oldest known caves in Slovakia. The Pružinská Dúpna Cave is also open to the public, but you will not get there yourself during the current year. From May to October, cavers can take you there, but you need to contact them in advance.

But if you mark the event Green-Blue in the calendar, you can visit the Dúpna Cave during the weekend without an announcement and if you arrive at the right time, you can also enjoy a concert in its premises. In winter, the cave is closed because it provides a refuge for hundreds of bats. According to Bohuslav Kortman, up to nine species of bats winter in it.

The springs of Dužna Cave were famous for the findings of the bones of a cave lion and a cave bear. "Originally, people thought that the findings of these prehistoric animals are about 20,000 years old. However, research has shown that they are up to 40,000 years old, ”Bohuslav Kortman from the Strážovské vrchy Cave Club explains to us and at the same time shows the skulls of the Strážovské vrchy Cave Club. According to archaeologists, the cave was inhabited as early as the Stone Age, later the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, and last time it also provided shelter for the inhabitants of Priedhoria during the Second World War.

However, Dúpna Cave above Pružina also has another unique feature - soft cave curd. You can see it on the walls and on the ceiling, and brave visitors can also taste it. "Thanks to the bacteria, this soft sinter - as it is technically called - maintains a consistency similar to cottage cheese. It is also interesting that in ancient times people used cave curd as a medicine not only for themselves, but also for their cattle, and even for the whitening of houses, "says Bohuslav Kortman, who lists the ways in which this white gold was used.

The first research of the cave was done in 1894 by Dr. Karol Brančík from Trenčín. In addition to being a doctor, he was also a naturalist, the director of the Trenčín Museum and even a musician. "During one year of the Green-Blue event, we also played Karol Brančík's mazurka at the concert," Kortman recalls, adding that it was Brančík who made the first map of the cave. And it was he who created the first tourist trail in it and thus made it accessible to the public. After him, other cavers and archaeologists came to the cave above Pružina. Today, there are already three maps of the cave, the last of which is the fault of cavers from the Strážovské vrchy Cave Club, members of the Slovak Speleological Society. According to new findings, the cave measures 300 meters. The main corridor, which is also visited by people for shows, is sometimes 20 meters wide and up to 10 meters high. However, beware, according to the caveman, most of the corridors are "reptiles", ie the spaces are difficult to access. At the same time, these are the places where most of the bones of prehistoric beasts are located. "That's why we don't really want to go there, although many curious people would like to peek into these corners. They have a really beautiful decoration, as classic as we know it, for example, from the Demänovská Cave of Freedom. By not letting visitors in there, we want to protect the decoration. And also the mentioned bones, "explains Bohuslav Kortman.

According to the caveman, a visit to this cave is an invitation for people to other lesser-known caves in the area. Pružinská Dúpna Cave is by far the only cave accessible by far. That is why it is considered that a regular entrance would be allowed in the summer and at the same time a tourist circuit was created so that groups of visitors do not disturb each other.

photo: Radovan Stoklasa