Every employer knows how important loyal and committed workers are. Few of them remember that it depends on their attitude as well. To his cost, the owner of the picturesque Predjama Castle in Slovenia found out just how important it is.

During this year's holiday we visited Postojna Cave again. Less than 10km from the Cave there is another amazing Slovenian place – Predjama Castle. Somehow we had never got round to visiting it before. This time we decided to catch up, and we regret the fact that we didn't do it years before.

Built into the rock, the four-storey castle emerges from the corner in a surprising and breath-taking manner. Originally, in the twelfth century, the castle was built in an extensive cave in the rocks. Traces of this can be found in the depths of the cave, and even though today it only looks like a cave, there exist details which indicate that there were at least a couple of rooms. Later in the XVI century the castle was developed into its current shape.

The structure is built on a 123-metre-high cliff, and it is beautiful and gloomy at the same time. The only entrance is via a narrow path and archway, and from the stony balconies an amazing view of the valley stretches out. On the one hand the fortress was an inhospitable and cold place. Only one or two rooms were heated, and the rock, which was an integral part of castle, didn't get any heat. It is difficult to imagine that there was ever warmth here. The high, steep and slippery stairs to the other parts of the castle make it difficult to get into the building. On the other hand this location – like few other castles – gave almost total security. The only way to the castle was clearly visible. The trees which now beautifully surround the castle and the valley didn't exist before, so the residents had the whole vicinity under control.

We were astonished by the ingenuity of the builders of this residence. The karstic stone in the area and the extraordinary system of water distribution (which still drips in the castle) resolved the problem with which a lot of castles wrestled. In the kitchen there was a stove and a castle "fridge" which made use of the natural cave shafts. The system of passages and cave chambers served also as a hideaway, secret escape road, and the castle's supply road.

In this amazing, if at first sight slightly unfriendly place there lived a knight, the lord of the robbers, and the hero of many romantic legends about the Slovenian Robin Hood called Erazm of Predjama. He looted the nabobs, handed out the money to paupers, and infuriated the rich. During the Austro-Hungarian War he sided with Hungary, which led to a siege of the castle by the Austrian army. Erazm hid in his fortress from the Governor of Trieste, screwing with the invaders by sending them fresh fruit and vegetables. He proved by this that he had sold his soul to the devil, since nobody could grow fruit trees in a castle on the rock.

It seemed that nobody could capture the castle and its owner would escape punishment forever. But if we don't know what's going on, we can be sure that money comes into play. The Trieste Governor, having had enough of the siege and the knight's mockery, bribed a disloyal valet. The valet revealed the secret that the weakest place in the castle was the toilet and sent word when Erazm was in there. A directly aimed cannonball destroyed the castle toilet and the owner of the fortress didn't survive the attack.

Now in the renovated rooms of the castle there is a museum. In our opinion it is decidedly less interesting than the castle itself and its history, but the castle chapel, kitchen and knight's chamber deserve credit as well. It is worth climbing the slippery stairs to the castle balconies to contemplate the picturesque view and ring a bell which has the power to make your dreams come true. The dripping water and silence in the castle are especially impressive in the dungeons and torture chamber. The atmosphere of these places sends shivers down the spine.

From May to September you can visit the charming cave under Predjama Castle. During the rest of the year it is closed because of the hibernating bats.

You can visit the castle without a guide, which is convenient when you visit this romantic and fascinating place with your children. You can borrow audioguides in many languages, including Polish. We took advantage of this and visited the castle with headphones on. It is worth buying the tickets as a package together with Postojna Cave tickets.

I recommend it!