The list of show caves in Germany contains all 51 show caves in Germany which are hosted by the German Speleological Federation. ()
Background As of 2008, there have been 51 show caves in Germany, which are hosted by the German Speleological Federation (). A show cave is defined as any cave equipped for tourists, by having walkways or steps, fitted with lighting, or supplying gear, as examples. Show caves have regular opening times, usually with regular guided tours of about 30 to 45 minutes duration and are almost all electrically lighted. Only the Easter Cave and the Schellenberg Ice Cave still use carbide lamps. In 1884 the Olga Cave was the first German show cave to be equipped with electrical lighting and the second in the world to be thus fitted. Only the Kraus Cave in the Styria in Austria was equipped earlier, in 1883.
Not included on this list are the artificially created caverns Schlossberg Caves and Saalfeld Fee Grottos, although these are listed with the German Speleological Federation, as their operators are paying members.
Also not in the main list is Balve Cave, because it has no regular guided tours or visits. Included is the Dienstedt Karst Cave, which is not part of the German Speleological Federation, but fulfils all the conditions of a show cave.
The cave which had the first guided tours was Baumann's Cave in the Rübeland; Tours of this cave were organised as early as 1646 and it was visited by Goethe. The latest to be opened as a show cave was the Autumn Labyrinth in 2009.
More than half the show caves are dripstone caves. The Wimsen Cave is the only show cave in Germany accessible by boat, for a distance of 70 metres. The Goetz Cave is the only fissure cave in the list and the largest publicly accessible cave in Europe. The Laichingen Vertical Cave is the only shaft cave that can be viewed in Germany, having a depth of 55 metres below the entrance and reaches the greatest depth of any German show cave. The Schellenberg Ice Cave is the only ice cave in Germany that can be visited. In the Barbarossa Cave, which is formed of anhydrite stone, loose layers of plaster hang like wallpaper from the ceilings and walls.
Legend
Name of the show cave : states the name of the show cave. Location: gives the location of the show cave. State: gives the state in which the show cave is found. {| width="70%" | width="4%" valign="top" | BR BE BW BY HE | width="25%" valign="top" | Brandenburg Berlin Baden-Württemberg Bayern Hesse | width="4%" valign="top" | MV NI NW RP SH | width="25%" valign="top" | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Lower Saxony North Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland-Palatinate Schleswig-Holstein | width="4%" valign="top" | SL SN ST TH | width="25%" valign="top" | Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Thuringia |} Location: gives the coordinates of the show caves. Geological classification: states the geological type of cave. It may be a limestone cave, rock cave, karst cave or other type. Length (m): gives the total length of the show cave in metres including all branches. GR (m): gives the total length of the guided route in metres, ignoring any doubling of walkways. It does include any artificial access walkways that are not part of the total length of the cave. So the guided route may be longer than the total length of the cave. Height: gives the height of the entrance above sea level. Discovery: is the date of discovery of the show cave. Most show caves were known by the local population much earlier, because they sometimes had a natural entrance accessible on foot. In these cases the year the cave is first mentioned in the records is shown in brackets. Show caves : gives the start of its operation as a show cave. Subsequent problems with safety, the impact of war, financial issues or changes of owner may have led to long interruptions in its use as a show cave. Electr. Light: states the year when electrical lighting was first installed. Visitors (annual): gives the latest (2004 to 2008) average, annual visitor numbers. If the number is in brackets it indicates the recent, average number of visitors, over a different, unspecified period.
Table Name ofshow cave Location State Location Geological classification Len-gth(m) GR(m) Height Dis-cov-ery Show Cave Electr.Light Visi-tors(/yr) Agger Valley Cave Engelskirchen NW Rock cave 1,071 270 200 1773 1930 1930 Altenstein Cave Schweina TH Rock and active stream cave1960 280 360 1799 1802 1905 Atta Cave Attendorn NW Limestone cave 6,670 560 1907 1907 1907 Autumn Labyrinth Breitscheid HE Karst cave 5,800 120 417 1993 2009 2009 Barbarossa Cave Rottleben TH Karst cave in anhydrite stone 1,100 600 154 1865 1866 1895 Bear's Cave Sonnenbühl BW Limestone cave 292 271 800 1834 1834 1934 Baumann's Cave Rübeland SA Limestone cave 1,980 600 378 1536 1646 1892 Bilstein Cave Warstein NW Limestone cave 1,700 450 350 1887 1888 1925 Bing Cave Streitberg BY Limestone cave 300 300 375 1905 1906 1908 Charlotte's Cave Hürben BW Limestone cave 587 532 488 1893 1893 1893 Dechen Cave Iserlohn NW Limestone cave 870 360 250 1868 1868 1926 Devil's Cave Pottenstein BY Limestone cave 1,500 800 400 1922 1923 1923 Devil's Cave Steinau HE Limestone cave 137 174 3101584 1927 1927 Dienstedt Karst Cave Dienstedt TH Karst cave 350 155 340 1953 1994 1994 Easter Cave Trondorf BY Limestone cave 185 130 (1630) 1905 Eberstadt Stalactite Cave Eberstadt BW Limestone cave 616 588 341 1971 1973 1973 Erdmann's Cave Hasel BW Limestone cave 2,146 356 (1271) 1773 1899 Goetz Cave Meiningen TH Fissure cave 242 485 328 1915 1934 1934 Gußmann's Cave Gutenberg BW Limestone cave 91 55 680 1890 1891 1922 Gutenberg Cave Gutenberg BW Limestone cave 180 110 690 1889 1890 1967 Heimkehle Uftrungen SA Large gypsum karst cave 2,000 750 200 (1357) 1920 1920 Heinrich's Cave Hemer NW Limestone cave 2,984 300 250 (1771) 1905 1905 Hermann's Cave Rübeland SA Limestone cave 2,733 800 378 1866 1890 1890 Hohler Fels Schelklingen BW Large rock dome 120 68 534 (1830) 1907 1955 Iberg Dripstone Cave Bad Grund NI Limestone cave 351 220 434 1723 1874 1912 Kittelsthal Dripstone Cave Kittelsthal TH Limestone cave 726 158 348 1888 1896 1918 Klutert Cave Ennepetal NW Rock cave 5,497 1,080 193 (1586) 1884 1951 Kolbing Cave Kolbingen BW Limestone cave 330 88 790 (1879) 1913 1950 König-Otto Dripstone Cave Velburg BY Limestone cave 450 270 590 1895 1896 1954 Kubacher Kristall Cave Kubach HE Crystal filled crevice cave 200 350 231 1974 1981 1981 Laichingen Vertical Cave Laichingen BW Shaft (vertical cave) 1,253 320 780 1892 1920 1936 Marienglas Cave Friedrichroda TH Large gypsum crystal geode 300 122 450 1784 1903 1929 Maximilian's Grotto Krottensee BY Limestone cave 1,200 400 500 (1596) 1878 1994 Nebel Cave Sonnenbühl BW Limestone cave 813 450 808 (1486) 1803 1922 Niedaltdorf Dripstone Cave Niedaltdorf SL Primary cave in tufa 200 80 1880 1933 1933 Olga Cave Honau BW Primary cave in tufa 170 90 557 1874 1884 1884 Recken Cave Balve NW Limestone cave 450 300 220 1888 1890 1890 Schellenberg Ice Cave Marktschellenberg BY Ice cave 3,621 500 1,570 (1826) 1925 Schertel's Cave Westerheim BW Limestone cave 212 160 775 (1470) 1902 1953 Schillat Cave Oldendorf NI Limestone cave 340 305 1992 2004 2004 Schulerloch Essing BY Limestone cave 420 180 390 (1782) 1828 1953 Segeberg Kalkberg Cave Bad Segeberg SH Gypsum karst cave 2,260 400 1913 1919 1919 Sontheim Cave Sontheim BW Limestone cave 530 192 720 (1488) 1516 1957 Sophie's Cave Ahorntal BY Limestone cave 900 220 405 1833 1834 1971 Sturmann's Cave Obermaiselstein BY Active stream cave 460 287 978 (1815) 1905 1905 Dragon's Cave Syrau SN Limestone cave 550 350 460 1928 1928 1928 Tschamber Cave Karsau BW Active stream cave 1,550 600 1890 1890 1966 Unicorn Cave Scharzfeld NI Large rock cave 610 270 370 (1541) 1895 1928 Wendelstein Cave Brannenburg BY Alpine rock cave 523 170 1,711 1864 1921 1962 Wiehle Dripstone Cave Wiehl NRW Limestone cave 868 400 260 1860 1927 1927 Wimsener Höhle Hayingen BW Water cave 723 70 557 (1447) 1803 1927
Disputed caves Several caves are sometimes described in the literature as show caves, although they do not meet the criteria. These include the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes and Schlossberg Caves which are not natural caverns, but mines, and the Zwiefaltendorf Limestone Cave and the Balve Cave, which have no regular guided tours.
Name ofshow cave Location State Geological classification Len-gth(m) GR(m) Dis-cov-ery Show- Cave Electr.Light Visi-tors(/yr) Balve Cave Balve NRW Large rock cave 138 138 (1690) Morassina Schmiedefeld TH Dripstone filled show mine 2000 tbd. 1683 1993 1993 tbd. Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes Saale TH Dripstone filled show mine 1100 600 1913 1914 1914 175,000 Schlossberg Caves Homburg SL Mine in Bunter sandstone 5000 800 (1708) 1930 1935 33,500 Zwiefaltendorf Limestone Cave Zwiefaltendorf BW Primary cave in tufa 27 27 1892 1892
Gallery
See also Cave List of caves Speleology
References
Notes
Bibliography Ernst Waldemar Bauer: Wunderwelt der Höhlen. Hrsg. v. Bechtle Verlag, Esslingen 2001 Stephan Kempe, Wilfried Rosendahl: Höhlen – Verborgene Welten. Primus Verlag, Stuttgart 2008 Hans Binder, Anke Lutz, Hans Martin Lutz: Schauhöhlen in Deutschland. Hrsg. v. Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993 Stephan Kempe Welt voller Geheimnisse – Höhlen. Reihe: HB Bildatlas Sonderausgabe. Hrsg. v. HB Verlags- and Vertriebs-Gesellschaft, 1997 Hans Binder: Herbert Jantschke: Höhlenführer Schwäbische Alb. Hrsg. v. DRW-Verlag, Leinefelden-Echterdingen 2003 Hans Binder: Höhlen der Schwäbischen Alb. Hrsg. v. DRW-Verlag, Leinefelden-Echterdingen 1995 Friedrich Herrmann: Höhlen der Fränkischen and Hersbrucker Schweiz. Hrsg. v. Verlag Hans Carl, Nürnberg 1991 Friedhart Knolle, Wilhelm Marbach: Bergwerke & Höhlen im Harz. Hrsg. v. Studio Volker Schadach, Goslar 1998 Stephan Lang: Höhlen in Franken. Wanderführer in die Unterwelt der Fränkischen Schweiz mit neuen Touren. Hrsg. v. Fachverlag Hans Carl, Nürnberg 2006 Stephan Lang: Höhlen in Franken. Ein Wanderführer in die Unterwelt der Hersbrucker Schweiz und des Oberpfälzer Jura. Hrsg. v. Verlag Hans Carl, Nürnberg 2002 Hardy Schabdach: Unterirdische Welten, Höhlen der Fränkischen- und Hersbrucker Schweiz. Hrsg. v. Verlag Reinhold Lippert, Ebermannstadt 2000 Helmut Seitz: Schaubergwerke, Höhlen und Kavernen in Bayern. Hrsg. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1993 Volker Sklenar, K. R. Hoffmann, I. Pustal, G. Kuhn, M. Meissner, A. Nestler, R. Cebulla, R. Fohlert, J. Bodenstein, G. Holzhey: Thuringia Untertage. Hrsg. v. Thüringer Landesanstalt für Umwelt und Geologie, Jena 2006
External links
www.showcaves.com German Show Caves - English site Show caves in Germany German Speleological Federation Caves and cave regions www.lochstein.de Cave & Karst Working Group www.arge-grabenstetten.de Show caves in Franconia www.freizeit.frankenjura.com Show caves in Baden-Württemberg www.lhk-bw.de/schauhoehlen.htm Show caves in the Swabian Jura Geo-Park www.geopark-alb.de Show caves in Thuringia home.arcor.de Show caves in the Harz www.harz-online.de Show caves in North Rhine-Westphalia www.lhk-nrw.de Show caves in NRW at Geological Service of NRW www.gd.nrw.de Fog and Bear Cave in Baden-Württemberg monkeysandmountains.com