Pešna Explained

Pešna
Location:Makedonski Brod, North Macedonia
Difficulty:Relatively difficult
Access:1
Coordinates:41.5439°N 21.2497°W

Pešna (Macedonian: Пешна) is a cave in North Macedonia which has been declared a Monument of Culture.[1]

Description

The cave Pešna is 6km (04miles) away from Makedonski Brod. Speleologists say that Cave Pešna's entrance is the biggest cave entrance on the Balkans — the entrance is high and wide. The length of the cave is . It is home to swallows and bats. The New York Times compared the cave to Helms Deep from The Lord of the Rings, which speaks about the cave's beauty.[2]

After heavy rain and melting of snow, a spring, which completely dries up during droughts, erupts from the cave's northernmost part. According to local residents, the water plunges from the village of Krapa, which is located at a higher altitude,[2] and forms several lakes and waterfalls in North Macedonia's largest cave system, which is said to be 10km (10miles) long.

At the cave's entrance there is a medieval fortress and the remains of a mill. The remains of a fortress in the cave are linked to a region called Devini Kuli visible from inside the cave. According to local legends, both fortresses were homes of Prince Marko's sisters. Pešna is registered as a site from the late antique period in North Macedonia. A tomb dated from late antiquity (5th cent.)[3] [4] with a brick vault was discovered in front of the cave's entrance.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Национален регистар на објекти кои се заштитно културно наследство . National register of buildings that are protected cultural heritage . May 19, 2022 . 2012 . Ministry of Culture . mk . August 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210809121456/http://mkopen.org/entry/b4lneRwy7EHOIGvCtgc7Vg.
  2. Aleksandar Mateski, „Девини кули и Пешна“ [Devini Kuli and Pešna] (in Macedonian), Economy and Business, year 18, no. 210/211, December 2015/January 2016, pp. 136-137.
  3. Macedoniae acta archaeologica, Volumes 7-9, Arheološko društvo na SR Makedonija, 1981, str. 147.
  4. Živa Antika: Antiquité Vivante, Volumes 32-33; Univerzitet vo Skopje. Društvo za antički studii na SRM, 1982, str. 105.