HISTORY OF THE CLUB

 

 

Many caves of the Sežana Karst were explored by cavers in the second half of the 19th century. They mostly came from Trieste, the seat of the most active and rival caving groups of the coastal section of the German-Austrian Alpine society called Societa` Alpina delle Giulie. The Slovenian cavers of Trieste, a branch of the Slovenian Mountaineering Society, started exploring the caves in this part of the Karst only at the beginning of the 20th century. In the inter-war period, the Sežana Karst was being intensively explored and visited by the Italian cavers from Trieste. The first local caving club was registered only after World War II, in 1947, and its president was Jože Ukmar. The caves were also occasionally visited and explored by about ten local people.

The activities of this club died out, but in 1955 the cavers organised themselves into the caving section of the caving section of the caving section of the Alpine Society of Sežana, and were lead by Avgust Sovdat. The year 1955 marks the beginning of serious, organised work by the Sežana caving section, which has been in continuous exsistence to this day. In 1959 the caving group of the Sežana branch joined the Slovenian Society of Cave Exploration and assumed the name of Sežana Caving Society (Jamarsko društvo Sežana). The Society of Cave Exploration was formed in 1976 as a federation of societies, while Sežana Society continues to be an active member of the Caving Federation of Slovenia (JZS).

After the formal founding of the society, most Sežana cavers continued visiting and exploring the caves of this part of the Karst and in 1960 also prepared Vilenica for public visits. The entrance staircase, the entrance itself and the footpath in the cave were repaired. Although the cavers received financial assistance from Sežana companies and institutions, most of the work was performed on a voluntary basis. Two years later the cave was reinaugurated on 19 May 1962 and opened to the public. In 1975 was built the cave center infront of the cave.

An important part of the activities of the Sežana cavers is their involvment in the organisation of the international events of Vilenica. These events have been organised continuously since 1980 when the first evening of Slovenian writers was held in the cave. The evening of Slovenian writers flourished and in 1986 became an international event.

 

The Speleological club of Sežana was headed by: