Light as leaf on Linden Tree

Since pre-Celtic days the sacred Linden tree has been associated with eternal life, through its association with Kresnik, the sun god. During medieval times every castle, city, town, village, & hamlet had a tree under which business was conducted; for it was impossible to tell a lie whilst seated under the bough of the tree. Even now in Slovenia the Linden or Lime ( lipa in Slovene,) tree has a special judicial prerogative and is the national symbol.

So it will not surprise you to discover that this particular tree, next to the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, was planted by a young village lass over the grave of her beloved. Girls love a badass and this he, Erasmus, certainly was; the robber Baron of Predjama castle. He met his untimely end after surviving a year long siege of his castle before betrayal by a fed-up - or maybe not so fed up after a year locked up - servant who signalled the enemy gunners with a candle lit in Erasmus' bedroom window which they duly aimed at and blew the room apart.

Heeding the advice of the lady in the Tourist Information centre I did not pay to see inside the house, or the cave, or the small little museum for the reduced price combo ticket at 45 Euro was a little too steep given the lack of anything substantial to gape at. The 'treasure trove' found buried under the floor of one room comprised a few small silver tumblers and a couple of silver candle-sticks for the glimpse of which I was happy to pay the municipal elections museum 3 Euros. And I got a fascinating explanation of the karst region in Slovenia, its myriad caves and the lifestyles of its inhabitants.Read more