Nekoč davno je v dolini pod Kamniškimi planinami ležalo mogočno jezero. Po starih zapisih Janeza Vajkarda Valvasorja se je raztezalo od vznožja Malega gradu pa vse do cerkve sv. Jurija v Nevljah. Danes jezero ne obstaja več – ljudsko izročilo pravi, da ga je uničil strašni zmaj. S svojim repom je razbil grič, ki je zadrževal vodo, in ta je odtekla čez mengeško polje.
Zmaj je postal del domače legende, a zgodba je znova oživela marca leta 1938, ko so v Nevljah pri urejanju struge Nevljice in gradnje mostu našli ogromne kosti. Vaščani so bili prepričani, da gre za ostanke zmaja iz jezera – šele veterinarski inšpektor Josip Nikolaj Sadnikar je razkril, da gre za okostje mamuta.
Izkopavanja so privabila množice radovednežev iz vse Slovenije in celo iz tujine. V nekaj tednih so našli celotno okostje 40 let starega samca, ki je živel pred približno 16.000 leti. Ob njem pa tudi kamnito orodje in kurišče – dokaz, da so tu v kameni dobi živeli lovci, ki so ga verjetno uplenili.
Okostje je dobilo svoj dom v Prirodoslovnem muzeju Slovenije, kjer je dolgo časa navduševalo obiskovalce. Danes so kosti shranjene v muzejskem depoju, a njegov lik še vedno živi – replika mamuta stoji v muzeju, Kamnik pa ostaja »mamutovo mesto«.
In kaj pa zmaj? 🐉
Čeprav znanstveniki pravijo, da je bil »zmaj« pravzaprav mamut, legenda še vedno živi v pripovedih. Ljudsko izročilo zmaja ohranja kot simbol skrivnostne in čarobne preteklosti Kamnika. Tudi v samem grbu mesta sta ob vnožju stolpa upodobljena dva zmaja. Pod Malim gradom pa stoji sodoben kip mamuta, delo lokalnega kiparja Mihe Kača.
EN
Long ago, in the valley beneath the Kamnik Alps, there lay a mighty lake. According to the old writings of Janez Vajkard Valvasor, it stretched from the foot of Mali grad all the way to the church of St. George in Nevlje. Today the lake no longer exists—folk tradition says it was destroyed by a fearsome dragon. With its tail, the dragon smashed the hill that held back the water, which then flowed away across the Mengeš plain.
The dragon became part of local legend, but the story came alive again in March 1938, when enormous bones were discovered in Nevlje during riverbed works on the Nevljica and the construction of a bridge. Villagers were convinced they had found the remains of the dragon from the lake—until veterinary inspector Josip Nikolaj Sadnikar revealed that the bones belonged to a mammoth.
The excavations attracted crowds of curious visitors from all over Slovenia and even from abroad. Within a few weeks, an entire skeleton of a 40-year-old male, which had lived around 16,000 years ago, was unearthed. Alongside it, stone tools and a hearth were found—evidence that hunters of the Stone Age had lived here and most likely hunted it.
The skeleton found its home in the Slovenian Museum of Natural History, where it fascinated visitors for many years. Today, the bones are kept in the museum’s storage, but its presence still lives on—a replica of the mammoth stands in the museum, and Kamnik remains known as the “mammoth town.”
And what about the dragon? 🐉
Although scientists say the “dragon” was in fact a mammoth, the legend still lives on in local tales. Folklore keeps the dragon alive as a symbol of Kamnik’s mysterious and magical past. In the very coat of arms of the town, two dragons are depicted at the base of the tower. Beneath Mali grad, a modern statue of the mammoth—crafted by local sculptor Miha Kač—still stands today.