A Face In A Rock in Slovenia

Ajdovska deklica /The Heathen Maiden is a rock formation in the northern walls of Mt. Prisank (2,547m) above the Vršič Pass (the highest mountain pass in Slovenia), that resembles a face of a female.

The Legend of the Heathen Maiden

According to local lore, the maiden was a good-hearted villager who often guided travellers through snowstorms. Said to be a nymph or forest spirit in some renditions, she also had prophetic abilities and could foretell the fates of unborn babies.

One day, she prophesized about a boy who would grow to become a hunter and catch the Zlatorog, or Goldenhorn, a mythical chamois buck with magical powers. Infuriated that she foresaw the death of the Zlatorog, legend says, the maiden’s siblings placed a curse on her. When she returned home, her body was transformed into stone.

*One of the* most beautiful works of art accomplished by nature can be found along the route to Vršič.

In Slovene mythology, “ajd” was a label for supernaturally large creatures, hence the Ajdovska girl, the daughter of such beings.

The best viewpoint

The Ajdovska deklica can be best seen from the viewpoint at ‘Poštarski dom’ mountain cabin at Vršič, but it is also visible from the Erjavec mountain cabin.

While we walk she constantly follows our step with her stony eyes. It is not true that she stares into the Trenta Valley, as the story goes, but on the Kranjska Gora side.

But of course the best is to see it for yourself when you visit Slovenia!