Podmornica Mystery Cache

I have always wondered why the bus station at the given coordinates is called Podmornica (English: Submarine). Now that I have found out the interesting historical facts behind this unusual name I decided to share this knowledge with you by hiding a little mystery cache.

In order to find it you (1) have to read the English (sorry!) text below and (2) come to the given coords to solve a few not too difficult tasks.

So, where does the name of the bus station (see attached picture) come from? Here is a short summary of the historical background of this name:

From September 1941 to July 1942 the first illegal printing facility (Slov.: ilegalna tiskarna) in Ljubljana operated in a bunker underneath the (orange) house that you will see next to the bus station. Why was the printing press illegal and who operated it?

Well, from 1941 to 1943 the so-called Province of Ljubljana (Ital.: Provincia di Lubiana) was annexed by Fascist Italy. After the emergence of resistance, Ljubljana and its inhabitants were subject to brutal repression. The Italian occupiers even put barbed-wire fence around Ljubljana in order to prevent communication between the Liberation Front (Osvobodilna fronta, acronym OF) activists in the city and the resistance (Partisans) in the surrounding countryside. Operating a printing facility that produced anti-Fascist material was not only illegal, it was considered a major crime by the Italian occupiers. Serious enough to get you arrested and executed.

By the way, the famous memorial Path of Remembrance and Comradeship (Pot spominov in tovarištva, acronym PST), also referred to as the Path along the Wire (Pot ob žici), a constant reminder of those dark times in Slovene history as well as the liberation of Ljubljana on 9 May 1945, passes by just ca. 100 meters away from the house under which the illegal printing facility was hidden.

At that time (1941) the house was situated on the very outskirts of Ljubljana and outside the barbed-wire fence. It was bought by the Communist Party of Slovenia (Komunistična partija Slovenije, acronym KPS) to support the OF in their fight against the Italian Fascists.

The KPS installed one of its devoted and trustworthy followers as legal owner of the house. Immediately after they had received all the necessary documentation and papers from the authorities, KPS activists started building a safe and concealed hiding place for the printing facility.

They excavated a small (only 3 x 2,5 m floor space) and quite low (only 1,8 m high) hole underneath the house. To do so they had to dig deep into the very tough clay ground. The excavated bunker was then covered with a concrete slab (betonska plošča). To conceal it a thick layer of clay was put on top of the concrete. They also paved the floor of the bunker and plastered its walls. But the plaster did not really stick to the moist clay walls. This resulted in ground and surface water penetrating the walls. Due to this constant intrusion of water the underground printing press was called Podmornica (= Submarine). Now you know where the name comes from.

But in spite of the moist and not very pleasant working conditions, 31 different anti-Fascist print products (various newspapers, political leaflets, pamphlets, and, as a deliberate provocation, even brochures in Italian) were fabricated in the bunker press during the short time of its operation.

Here are some other interesting facts about the bunker press:

To conceal the entrance to the underground bunker as good as possible, it was built directly underneath the toilet bowl (in the bathroom of the house). But nevertheless the toilet was fully functional.

The underground bunker was equipped with electricity and even a warning lamp which could both be switched on and off from the kitchen of the house.

A carpenter’s workshop served as a cover-up for the illegal activities in and under the house. Hidden between his work equipment (tools, wood, etc.) the carpenter was able to smuggle all the materials needed for printing (ink, paper, etc.) past the Italian control post which was just 100 meters away from the house. In the same way the KPS and OF activists brought the printing products to the recipients in the city of Ljubljana.

After the war, floorboards were laid and the walls were reinforced with concrete. This prevented the intrusion of water and helped to preserve the bunker.

Nowadays Podmornica is the only still preserved illegal printing press in Ljubljana. It is listed as a local historical heritage site and thereby protected by law. In spite of various renovation works on the house, the bunker itself has been kept unchanged. There even is some original furniture in it. Unfortunately, it is not possible to visit the bunker (unless you ask the owners of the house).

This cache is dedicated to all the courageous activists who contributed to the operation of Podmornica. It serves as a little memorial of the heroic acts of all the known and unknown people who risked their lives to operate the printing press.

To get the first set of coordinates you have to answer three easy questions related to the text that you have just read:

Which organization bought the house in which the printing press operated from 1941 to 1942?

A: Number of letters of the acronym (!) of this organization – 1

How many different printing products were fabricated in Podmornica alltogether?

B: X – 4

The entrance to the bunker was hidden under the ____________ bowl.

C: Number of letters of missing word + 2

Now go to the given coordinates and solve the following tasks:

To the right of the house in which the printing press was hidden you will see a memorial plaque. How many lines of text (even if it is just a single word) can you see?

D: Number of lines

Find another memorial plaque (maybe 30 meters across the street). How many times do you read the name FRANC on the plaque? Count the number of names and add 1.

E: X + 1 

Go back to the printing press house. To the left of it you will see the bus station called PODMORNICA. It has the number 33X>

Look at the time table: How many minutes does it take to get from PODMORNICA to CESTA XV?

Now take a look at the front (!) side of the Podmornica house: How many small windows can you see on first floor (under the roof)? Count the number of small windows and add 4.

H: X + 4

Now you can calculate the coordinates of the final:

N 46    0A.      CEG    (Control: A + C + E + G = 17)

E 014  B.        DFH     (Control: B + D + F + H = 45)

Congratulations! You are almost there…