Park at the Secondary School of Forestry and Woodworking
Located in a
downtown grove are Slovenia's
only school of forestry and a hall
of residence, which also serves as a
youth hostel. Prior to World War
I, this was the site of the majestic
Grand Hotel Adelsbergerhof, a
spa resort with healthful climate,
which hosted affluent Postojna
Cave visitors from all over the
world, especially in the summer. Grand Hotel,
as the hotel was referred to by the locals,
was built by Franc Progler from Switzerland,
who owned another hotel in Trieste.
The Grand Hotel Adelsbergerhof boasted
equipment and facilities that were considered
highly modern at the time, i.e. bathrooms
with showers, electric lighting and a
parking garage, and offered transportation
to the railway station and Postojna Cave. In
addition to the English Park, there was also a cricket field, a tennis court, an outbuilding
with livestock and a vegetable garden that
catered for the fine hotel restaurant.
During World War I, the hotel building
housed the headquarters of the Austrian
armed forces' 5th Army, which defended the
front line on the Soča River. The army was
commanded by General Svetozar Borojević
von Bojna. After World War I, it became one
of the residences of the House of Windisch-
Grätz, before being nationalised after World
War II and finally demolished in 1980.
The little grove in the middle of Postojna is
an unforgettable oasis where you will experience
a mixture of different concepts: age-old
and modern elements, war and peace, youth
and wisdom, nature and culture.
Tip: The colourful, uniquely designed common
areas of Youth Hostel Proteus are a
perfect place to connect to the internet or
unwind, forget the rest of the world and simply
enjoy the youthful, yet peaceful ambience.
General Svetozar Borojević von Bojna
( 1856-1920) succeeded in making sure that
after Italy attacked, the front line was set on the
Soča River, rather than on the Sava River. As the
Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian
5th Army he prevented the Italians from breaking
through and even succeeded in pushing them all the
way to the Piave River, earning the title of Field
Marshal. He was the only Austro-Hungarian Field
Marshal of Slavic origin.