Written by Andrej Kranjc, 1989
Abstract
J. W. F. Valvasor was a polyhistor with a special inclination towards natural history and technology. “Wonders of nature, caves, and caverns” attracted him in particular. His first intention, therefore, was to publish a book on natural rarities in Camiola and it was only later that he changed his plans and published the voluminous Die Ehre dess Hert-zogthums Crain.
Because of his investigations and published work we can consider Valvasor as a precursor of modem karstology and speleology, especially as he described and investigated karst phenomena in Camiola. In addition, he tried to explain them as scientific processes and compared Carniolan karst phenomena with others from around the world. Besides Valvasor’s visits to caves, he tried to survey their lengths and breadths, attempted to find out the levels of subterranean lakes and looked for siphons in the subterranean karst. From these experiments he made some conclusions, for example upon the variations in the hydrological regime of the Lake of Cerknica.
He also wanted to prove that petrifications (concrementa) were not the work of evil forces but were slowly formed by dripping water (aqua stillantis). Both at home and abroad, Valvasor gathered data about karst phenomena and processes by field-work. He wrote a field diary, and made investigations on the surface as well as underground. On the basis of minute observations, surveys, measurements, analyses and experiments, he made concrete conclusions, with which he tried to affirm his theories. Valvasor’s contemporaries appreciated the value of his work. It was, after all, because of his work on the karst that the Royal Society elected him as a Fellow.