Vindija Cave (Vindrija, Križnjakova jama, Lavska jama) is one of the most important archaeological and paleontological sites in Croatia, and given the importance and quantity of finds, it has a prominent place among the world-famous cave sites. The main protective profile located at the entrance to the cave is of great value due to the preserved sequence of Pleistocene sediments, which is a rarity in Croatia and in Europe. Vindija can also be considered a semi-cave, since it is reduced to a large hall 50 m long, 28 m wide and 20 m high.
Fossil remains of humans and numerous animals, along with thousands of stone and bone handicrafts, define Vindi as one of Europe’s most significant Paleolithic sites. Research on the fossil bones of Neanderthals from Vindija has shown that there are Neanderthal genes in the genome of modern man, which confirms how Neanderthals successfully mixed with modern humans.
Historical data:
Vindija Cave was formed by various geological processes in rocks deposited in the Pannonian Sea (Paratethys) about 15 million years ago. Cave deposits have been deposited for the last almost 400,000 years, during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs of the youngest geological period of the Quaternary.
Archaeological contents and traces of cutting marks on the bones of captured animals testify that people visited Vindi (or occasionally stayed in it) from the middle of the Paleolithic until the Middle Ages. The first records of Vindija come from Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski (1873) and Dragutin Gorjanović-Kramberger (1904). In 1928, Stjepan Vuković was the first to find handicrafts and animal remains and began research. Extensive research and excavations (1974 - 1967) were continued by Mirko Malez.
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