KRAS, Karst Museum
A crucial milestone in the development of the Notranjska Museum is its permanent exhibition called KARST, “the Karst Museum," which opened in 2015. It is a unique museum exhibition that, in a modern, multifaceted, and interactive way, introduces the classic Karst region to the world and also showcases the museum itself, which collects, preserves, and researches thousands of years of documented tradition of human habitation in this part of Slovenia. The exhibition "Karst Museum" consists of two main themes: the first describes the Karst, its origin, and development, while the second focuses on the Karst cave as the most fascinating and recognizable Karst phenomenon. Both themes are linked by the life and creations of humans in this rocky landscape, providing visitors with a comprehensive understanding of the Karst region.
On the first floor of the museum, visitors are introduced to the geological history that explains the formation of the Karst region, made possible by soluble rock types, primarily limestone and dolomite. The dissolution of limestone shapes the landscape with distinctive surface and underground relief features, referred to as classical Karst. Right here, in the Slovenian classical Karst, systematic scientific research of this phenomenon began much earlier than elsewhere in the world. Today, Postojna, with its cave, speleological institute, and museum, represents the cradle of Karst studies and is a globally renowned center for cave tourism.
The world-famous Karst (written with an initial capital letter) region with its rocky and waterless terrain, stretching from the Gulf of Trieste to the Vipava Valley in western Slovenia, is the original, though somewhat overgrown, area of karst. This distinctive natural and cultural landscape, which in colloquial language means overgrown, stony land, is the essence of karst. The term "karst" has also become established for similar landscapes around the world as an international term. Likewise, for karst phenomena such as polje (field), ponor (a natural opening where surface water enters into underground passages), udornica (sinkhole), dolina (valley) , and others are used Slovenian technical terms.
On the second floor of the Notranjska Museum, the focus is on the eternal darkness of the underground world, which gives karst its distinctiveness, enchantment, and mystery. The karst caves can be traced from prehistory when humans had not yet settled the karst, and extinct animal species lived here, to the development of modern caving and speleology. The exhibition also dedicates a special place to the treasure discovery from the Predjama Castle, which was uncovered during archaeological excavations in the early nineties of the last century.
