Barać Caves

The Upper Cave of Barać:
– Set up for sightseeing
– Protected site – a significant landscape
– Important prehistoric archaeological site
– Extremely rich in cave ornaments (stalactites, stalagmites and stalagnates )
– Large and spacious halls and channels, suitable for all categories of visitors

The TOUR of the Upper Cave of Barać is organized by tour guides who give a 45-60 minute lecture (in Croatian, English, German or Italian) on the general geological structure of the cave, its formation, specific features and archaeological findings, while focusing on types of ornaments and details.
Visit the museum of the oldest artist – the nature, and take a look at its work of art that has been composed for millions of years. Learn about the techniques the water used to create this unique underground pearl. Catch a glimpse of eternity as you walk through the halls and corridors of the Upper Cave of Barać, starting from the entrance, and the Guano hall, and continuing through the Elephant Feet Hall filled with cave formations (stalagmites and stalactites) and up to ten-meter high columns (stalagnates).

Discover the Dragon’s Gorge and the Hall of Lost Souls and experience the distant past and the beauty of absolute darkness. The cave is particularly interesting due to the fact that in 1955 Professor Mirko Malez, PhD claimed it to have been the home of the early man because of its location and age. In addition to this assumption, animal bones belonging to a cave bear (Ursus spalaeus) and many human bones have been discovered in the cave along with ceramics and bronze pieces, including a bronze bracelet dating from the 7th century B.C. and a stone axe dating from the 6th century B.C.

The Caves of Barać are located some six kilometres to the east of Rakovica (on the highway Zagreb-Split), just over half a kilometre to the west from the centre of the village of Nova Kršlja. Entrances to all three caves from the north are called Baraćeve Brine. At the bottom of Brine, between the entrances to the caves, there is the Baraćevac spring, which, together with two smaller springs (without a name) forms the Kršlja stream that merges with the Suvaja stream some twenty meters further. The Kršlja flows several kilometres through the field, and at its eastern part, through a series of pits, enters the Varićak Cave, where it accounts for the greatest amount of water in its channels.

The Caves of Barać were once known as Radaković Caves. The surname Barać no longer exists in this region – this is a toponym dating back from the times before or during the Turkish invasions. According to a local legend, the caves were named after a person called Barać who defeated the furious Turkish giant in the battlefield and earned himself such honour. We know that there are three caves. Some call them Large and Small, Upper and Lower, and the third one simply – the Third, which allegedly has nothing to do with the two former ones. After rediscovering its entrance and position, along with some new channels, the third cave was named – the New Barać Cave.

http://www.baraceve-spilje.hr/index_eng.html/

Photo credit: Slavko Bionda, Rade Jug, Studio Butina