Petnička pećina

Petnica Cave - the most important information

Petnica cave is a natural monument located 300 meters from the research station in Petnica and belongs to the territory of the city of Valjevo. Research on this site was conducted by Josif Pancic and Jovan Cvijic during the 19th century. After the archaeological and anthropological research inside the cave and in its surroundings, remains and the oldest evidence of life in western Serbia were found. During 1969, it was confirmed that the sites located in front of the entrance to the Petnicka Cave were the first complete Neolithic habitats on the territory of Yugoslavia. The age is estimated at 6,000 years. Attendees at the Petnica research station often return to this site. Some parts of the cave have not yet been fully explored.

Characteristics of Petnica Cave
Numerous corridors and canals that are 580 meters long are divided into

Upper Caves
Lower Caves

Small river Banja springs from the Lower Cave, with the entrance at 178 meters and has a partially triangular shape. Within the Upper Cave, which is larger in area and has an entrance at a height of 199 meters, is a large chamber (Concert Hall) that has a dimmed source of natural light from the ceiling with two openings. The entrance to this part of the cave is closed with a metal door. The Lower cave and the Concert Hall are connected by a sloping corridor built like a staircase.

What to see

It is considered that the conditions were favorable for humans and specific animal and plant life that was found in this area. Inside the cave was discovered:

Fireplace with animal bones
Parts of military equipment that belonged to the Romans
Large number of ceramic food utensils used by the Neolithic people

How to get to Petnica cave?
Due to the nature of the location, it is best to get to the immediate vicinity of the cave where the parking lot is located with your own vehicle, which will be easy due to the helpful road signs

By car: from Valjevo it is possible to follow several routes starting from Vladike Nikolaja Street, you can drive to Uzun Mirkova and through Mirko Obradovic and Norveskih interniraca all the way to the turn to road 176 from where you follow the road further to the destination; you can cut the path through Suvoborska Street

Additional information

According to the project of Dr. Radovan Lazarevic, the cave was arranged to be used for tourist visits in 1990, but in the same year external lighting that was provided was stolen and the entrances to the cave were hidden by tall vegetation
A water factory was built in the immediate vicinity of the cave, the owners of which took care of part of the cave; the entrances were cleaned in 2003, the mill in front of the entrance was restored and a restaurant was opened within the Lower Cave, which was closed after the company collapsed
All previous attempts to make this site a tourist attraction have failed, so the visitations are limited