the Grosuplje Fab Four!

If ever there was a definition of a Slovenian Secret place to visit that you have certainly never heard of, but is so easy to find on a map, moderately ok to pronnounce for foreigners AND.. get this.. sits in Ljubljana's green suburbs, with not one, not two, not three, but FOUR really great secret places to visit.. then GROSUPLJE is the place to go! So what are the Grosuplje Fab Four?

 

the amazing Fortess Church of Tabor..

(a real and fantastic medieval Fortress just waiting for you to explore!)
(a real and fantastic medieval Fortress just waiting for you to explore!)

A medieval fortress in perfect working order still protecting a church stuffed with frescos and an amazing view from the bat bell tower. The castle was never breached by Turkish invaders and you will see exactly why when you explore the wooden ramparts with arrow slits and kill holes for throwing rocks down! This Fortress Church is one of Slovenia's most amazing secrets.. Disney can just dream of recreating this place.. but the Tabor is the real thing!!

 

the Radensko Disappearing Lake (nature reserve)..

(Even in summer, part of the disappearing lake can fill with water if heavy rain..)
(Even in summer, part of the disappearing lake can fill with water if heavy rain..)

Slovenia is quite unique in having so many huge disappearing lakes which usually fill up with water in the winter and then magically empty in the summer! Grosuplje has a 4km disappearing lake just outside the town! If you want to explore a disappeaing lake during your Slovenian adventures, then this could be the one.. it's a perfect opportunity to spend some time in green nature and understand how a disappearing lake works. You can even see where the water pours into the lake from several natural water springs and up through massive rock sinkholes!

 

the Supernova Cave (aka Mayor's cave.. aka Zupanova Jama)..

(one of the several fantastic chambers inside the Supernova cave..)
(one of the several fantastic chambers inside the Supernova cave..)

This is the closest Slovenian showcave to Ljubljana, only 20 mins.. (40 mins from the Lodge) with a special Ice cave, lots of chambers literally dripping with all types of dripstones and it might also be possibe soon to "drop in" to the main entrance chamber by rope.. how cool is that! The cave is located in a green rocky forest really close to the TABOR and the tour lasts an hour.. So there are no trains, no fuss, no crowds of people here and this could be one of the unique cave tours for you as part of your Grosuplje experience!  

 

the Fortress Church of the miracle of Santa Maria..

(This castle tower is packed full of stuff to see and is the last remaining bit of the great wall that protected the church..)
(This castle tower is packed full of stuff to see and is the last remaining bit of the great wall that protected the church..)

See the last remaining tower that protected the Santa Maria church from medieval invaders and find out about the miracle of Santa Maria where Mary was spared a wartime bomb.. there are frescos on the walls and inside the main tower there is a fantastic menagerie of local historical & religious items, paintings and artefacts collected by the same priest who was murderd by vagabonds.. it's a castle, a church and a mini museum!

(We will write up more individually about each Fab Four attraction as they each deserve a page on our site on their own)..


So why should I come to Grosuplje for a day (half day) out?

It actually took us 2 different days to visit and enjoy the delights of Grosuplje with the friendly staff of the local TIC (Tourist Info Centre) and this is how we came across the idea to describe the 4 major attractions here as the FAB FOUR, so you could know what to expect!

Let's face it.. most visitors know so little about Green Slovenia and make the honest mistake of having way too much time apportioned to lovely little Ljubljana.. so you end up totally missing out on so many other secret places and natural green Slovenian wonders.. Well, Grosuplje is a SERIOUS CONTENDER FOR A DAY AWAY TRIP from Ljubljana as it is pretty much a green suburb of the capital, just 20 mins by car, (40 mins from the Lodge)!

Even better it has a DIRECT TRAIN LINK from Ljubljana (on the Novo Mesto line), about 25 mins, so you can easily escape the big smoke and spend one of your city days here instead!

The other really special thing you should know about this mini region is that Green Slovenia is half covered in a rocky limestone wonderland known as the "KARST", where water has created stoney natural wonders over millions of years and in Grosuplje you can hit 2 of these rocky wonders in the same day, being the Supernova cave and the Disappearing lake!

Be honest.. had you even heard of disappearing lakes before you read this article?? Well here is your chance to spend time in such beautiful nature and explore one for youself! (And if you would like to know more about the Karst then please click HERE)

So our advice is always to ditch one or two of your "overspill" Ljubljana days, understandabubbly done, but now you know better.. so why not see some of Slovenias other Green secrets.. away from the crowds.. but with the locals.

And seriously, we really must tell you again.. you might have heard of the wonderful Hrastovlje Medieval fortess church (25 mins from Lipizzaner Lodge towards the coast).. it is truly amazing.. but WOW the TABOR is also something so special.. it is so well preserved and bursting with history and little nooks and arrow holes to explore!

So How do I see the Grosuplje Fab Four?!

Let's be very clear.. You will not just arrive in Grosuplje, park or leave the train station and waltz around the FAB FOUR on your own.. one of the reasons the Fab Four have been so undiscovered so far by YOU the visitor to Slovenia is that they are geographically spread apart, tricky to find and for some of them, you will need a key..

And finally being quite frank, the locals didnt even realise YOU the visitor would like to see these 4 attractions all in one day!

So.. YOU WILL NEED A GUIDE.. OR AN ELEC BIKE.. DONT BE SCARED going with a guide isnt that expensive and is a great way of meeting the lovely local people.. But, for example.. you WILL NOT get into the TABOR fortress (or probably find it for that matter) without a guide and at the disappearing lake you will 100% miss so many special secret features without a guide as they are hidden away by nature!

So we recommend strongly that for the Grosuplje Fab Four, you contact the TIC (Tourist info Centre) directly, tel 00386 (0) 820 071 57 at least the day before arrival and let them piece together your day.. they can sort out your logistics.. remember it is perfectly possible to see ALL FAB FOUR in one day, but you may choose to see 3 or maybe do two of them in a half day out instead, depending on your timescales and interests.

But don't forget.. you very probably do not have churches protected by medieval castles in your country.. Grosuplje has two.. you most certainly do not have magical disappearing lakes at home and you almost certainly don't have a cave as beautiful as Zupanova.. SO THIS IS YOUR BIG CHANCE!

It is fair to say, the town centre of Grosupje is not the most beautiful in Slovenia and parking is also really quite tricky for a visitor, so this is why we recommend you work with the lovely staff at the TIC to arrange maybe meeting a guide at your first Fab Four attraction or maybe getting picked up directly from the station to save time on your logisitics.

(all the trees around the Tabor were cut in the old days to give the archers a perfect view of attackers..now we get a different, but equally perfect view!)
(all the trees around the Tabor were cut in the old days to give the archers a perfect view of attackers..now we get a different, but equally perfect view!)

 

the Future looks bright for the Grosuplje Fab Four!

We are sure that ultimately, the best and most fun way to see the Fab Four in one day is to visit them all on E bikes, (with a guide or following new signs) and this is something that should be availble in Grosuplje for the future.. with E bike stations at strategic points for you.. (In the meantime we think you should go directly with a guide or at least follow them to the attractions).

Similarly we expect to see a "FAB FOUR" ticket being available in the future, whereby you can get entrance to all 4 or maybe 3 of the attractions in a one day ticket.

At the disappearing lake, the TIC plans to connect both ends of the 4km meadow with a nature path.. perfect for e Biking or walking. They will also build a fab viewing tower on a hill on the site of yet another crumbled castle for an amazing bird's eye view of the lake!

And possibly the most exciting thing of all will be when the Supernova cave allows you to literally "drop in" by rope from a hole in the cave roof to start your tour.. now that will be really something special!

It doesn't really matter which order you see the fab Four, but we encourage you to arrive for 9am and try to see them all.. wow what a day that would be.. full of Karst wonders, medieval history and local hospitality..

A Fab Four tour is also such a one day action packed adventure, that we recommend you bring sandwiches for now, as the best time to eat a meal is at the end of your day, maybe back in Ljubljana or the Lodge.. with time to fully digest just one of the many completely secret, yet amazing daytrip oprions in Green Slovenia!

Maybe you will see a stork family high up in a nest in one of the villages outside Grousuplje or be invited for a glass of schnapps by a local.. Perhaps you will clamber into the secret cave under the disappearing lake that becomes a torrent of water when it rains.. maybe you will ring the huge bells at Tabor castle.. but you will certainly experience the "true Green" side of Slovenia here.. just minutes outside the Slovenia's main city.. 

Email: info@lipizzanerlodge.com

Address: Landol 17, Postojna 6230, Slovenia

Phone: +386 5620 3443
Mobile: +386 40 47 0239 or +386 40 37 8037

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