Russian Cave

Easy | 1 hr

There is a multitude of natural karst caves in the area of the Kras. During the time of the Isonzo Front (1915–1917), several of them were arranged by the Austro-Hungarian Army to serve military purposes. The names of these caves continue to explain their purpose of that time even today.
One of them was called the Russian Cave. It was initially used for ammunition storage. Later on, the Russian POWs were lodged in it whose duty was to repair the damage done to the road Kostanjevica–Lokvica. The Russian POWs were captured on the Eastern Front and brought to the immediate rear of the Isonzo Front, where they had to carry out hard physical work (construction of roads, tracks, railways, waterworks, magazines, etc.). According to the estimation of historians, about 15.000–20.000 Russian POWs were present at the time on the broader area of the Kras. In the extremely difficult conditions (poor clothing, undernourishment, exhaustion from hard work and torture) numerous of them died there.
In the Tenth Isonzo Battle the area was conquered by the Italian Army and the cave was rearranged for their special purposes. The occupation did not last long, because after only a few months the Italian Army had to withdraw in the Twelfth Isonzo Battle.

Photos: Turizem Miren – Kostanjevica