Charlottenhöhle
| Charlottenhöhle
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 chapel |
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| Location: | Swabian Alb , Germany | |
| Height : | 487.51 m above sea level NN | |
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Geographic location: |
48 ° 35 '0.8 " N , 10 ° 12' 28.6" E | |
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| Cadastral number: | 7427/03 | |
| Geology: | White Jura | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1893 | |
| Show cave since: | 1893 | |
| Lighting: | electric (since 1893), LED (since 2011) | |
| Overall length: | 587 meters (with side aisles) |
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| Level difference: | 12.4 meters | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
532 meters | |
| Average annual number of visitors: | 39,500 (2011-2015) | |
| Current visitors: | 38,091 (2015) | |
| Website: | Official site | |
The Charlottenhöhle is a stalactite cave near Hürben , a district of Giengen , on the Swabian Alb in Baden-Württemberg . The cave is 587 meters long with side passages, lies 487.5 meters above sea level and is likely to be two and a half to three million years old. The Hundsloch , the entrance to the cave, was already entered in a forest map in 1591. The population threw carcasses of pets into this hole. Head forester Hermann Emil Sihler made the first inspection in spring 1893 with a rope ladder. During further visits and excavations, the cave was exposed, made accessible to the public and equipped with electrical lighting. The grand opening took place on September 17, 1893. On September 23rd, Queen Charlotte von Württemberg visited the cave named after her. This is used by tourists as a show cave over a length of 532 meters and is one of the information points of the UNESCO Geopark Swabian Alb , about 100 kilometers east of Stuttgart .
The relatively narrow cave passage formed by running water runs like a hose through the mountain and is interrupted by more than ten spacious, often quite high halls. The cave contains rich sintering with different stalactite shapes . With its stalactite inventory, the Charlottenhöhle is one of the most beautiful show caves in Germany. In July 2005, the HöhlenHaus information center was built at the foot of the Charlottenhöhle . To the cave house that originated cave adventure world and the stairway to the Charlottenhöhle a time travel path . In July 2008 the HöhlenSchauLand , a multimedia museum, was opened in the immediate vicinity of the HöhlenHaus.
In recent years, contrary to the trend in most other German show caves, the number of visitors has been kept at 40,000 per year.
history
discovery
With the entry in the Giengen forest map by the Ulm city painter Philipp Renlin in 1591, the cave was mentioned for the first time and called the Hundsloch in the Hürbener Gewann Krauthalde . However, the exact location is missing. The name of the sinkhole with a diameter of about three meters is probably derived from the fact that the population has probably been throwing carcasses of domestic animals into it since the Middle Ages . For this reason, the hole was not investigated by the locals for a long time. For the first time in 1893 the Giengen forester Hermann Emil Sihler was interested in exploring the hole. He was an experienced cave explorer who had previously dealt with the caves of the Swabian Alb and discovered the Irpfelhöhle near Giengen in 1892 . The forest with the dog hole was in his territory. In the spring of 1893, Sihler tried, with the help of forest warden Gaiser and a day laborer from Hürben, to penetrate the cave with a ladder. Since the ladder did not reach the floor of the cave, the attempt failed.
A secret inspection took place on Sunday, May 7th, 1893. Three residents of the municipality of Hürben, the carpenters Friedrich Strauss, Jakob Beutler and Kaspar Schlumpberger, climbed into the cave with a 15 meter long rope ladder . Friedrich Strauss jumped from the too short ladder onto a pile of bones. It was not possible to penetrate into further parts of the cave that were hinted at. Another entry took place on May 9th, this time with Sihler, with Forstwart Gaiser securing from above. The roped men first cleared the mountain of bones in several hours so that they could penetrate into the actual cave. The first thing they discovered was a stalactite about two meters high, which was later called the mountain spirit . They advanced 163 meters to a narrow point in the treasury . On the way they discovered numerous stalactite formations. The drive took about two hours. Under the direction of head forester Sihler, further cave visits took place over the next few days, with the help of the Hürben fire brigade. The men were able to get an overview of the dimensions of the cave. The first reports about the stalactite cave discovered appeared on May 10th and 13th in the Brenztal-Bote . He wrote on May 15, 1893:
“With the help of the Hürben fire brigade, the cave was carefully inspected yesterday morning. This resulted in the surprising result that the cave should have a length of approx. 500 meters (that is, it exceeds the Hohlenstein in size) and that it extends in a westerly direction under the Wasserhau state forest towards Reuendorf, and therefore not in connection with the Kaltenburg stands. The cave consists partly of very spacious halls with magnificent stalactite formations and, with the exception of a short distance, can be entered in an upright position. In addition to the horse bones mentioned in No. 55, remains of the cave bear, the cave hyena and other predators were found yesterday. With continued vigorous work, the cave should produce a good yield. It is still unclear how the horses from which the remains were found got lost in the cave in their time. Unfortunately, there is no passable access to the cave, so far, access to it is only possible using a rope ladder, on which a distance of 16 meters must first be covered. A large company from Giengen arrived yesterday morning to visit the cave in Hürben. "
Development
By resolution of the municipal council on May 16, entering the cave was strictly forbidden, as stalactites had already been stolen. Furthermore, the future procedure was discussed. The entire length of the cave was explored and made accessible with the support of the senior official Filser from Heidenheim an der Brenz at the expense of the community. The lower entrance to the cave was buried except for a narrow opening, which served as a fox hatch. From the inside, the alluvial debris was removed, whereby the former outflow of the cave brook could be exposed. This gave the cave access at ground level again.
After the cave had been opened up to the rear rooms, the geologist and paleontologist Eberhard Fraas from Stuttgart was able to scientifically examine it on June 17th with a group of other experts. Excavations also took place. Fraas found numerous bones of Ice Age animals, especially cave bears, but no prehistoric human traces. On the day of the visit, he certified that “the cave is one of the most beautiful natural beauties in Württemberg and that further access should therefore be extremely worthwhile”. He also explained: “A new natural beauty of the first order has been developed on our Alb and certainly no visitor will regret walking through this magnificent cave.” This encouraged the community to open the cave to the public. On July 2, 1893, the border messenger of the Official and Intelligence Gazette wrote for the Heidenheim district that the cave “surpasses all of the caves in Wuerttemberg known to date in terms of size and beauty and is likely to be one of the most visited natural beauties in the area in a short time” . Fraas also described his ascent of the cave there:
“We advance on the mostly flat and almost always dry path and arrive at the rear end of the cave, where the stalactites hanging from the ceiling like a backdrop, combined with the stalagmites rising from the ground like giant asparagus, are a magnificent sight. But how can all the beautiful and interesting things be described in words, which we encounter with every further step. Sometimes there are formal carpets with lace that hang down from the walls, sometimes there are mighty columns and portals made of honey-yellow, translucent calcite, sometimes delicate, glass-light tubes that we admire and that stimulate our imagination to make the most daring comparisons. A seemingly never-ending labyrinth of narrow, but high crevices and crevices, interrupted by wide halls, allows us to penetrate further and further, and new natural structures take us over and over again. "
The community asked the Queen of Württemberg for permission to name the cave after her. It was probably hoped to receive a government grant to develop the cave. Later, 1,000 marks were promised. The wife of the last King of Württemberg, Wilhelm II , was invited to visit the cave. The cave began to be completely expanded and made accessible. At a narrow point in the cave, today's treasury , 163 meters from the entrance, a breakthrough had to be made and a staircase had to be built to bridge the height difference in order to get into the Cyclops vault. On August 13th, a restaurant was opened in a 32-meter-long wooden building on the road below the cave.
Electric lighting
The electrical lighting was set up by a pioneer in electrical engineering, Paul Reisser from Stuttgart , on the initiative of Oberamtmann Filser and Schultheiss Kost . He was given the task of completing the electrical system within 14 days so that it would be ready for the opening of the cave. The Charlottenhöhle is one of the first show caves with electric lighting worldwide after the Kraushöhle in Styria , which was the first cave in the world to be electrically lit in 1883. In Germany, the Olgahöhle followed in 1884 and the Gußmannshöhle in 1891 .
In the cave passage, cross braces were attached to the ceiling, to which the cables and lamps were attached to glass insulators. 89 carbon filament Edison lamps were suspended from a 570 meter lead cable . Direct current of 105 volts was generated by an internal combustion engine driving a generator with a bypass regulator. The cost of the cave lighting amounted to 13,130 marks, which were financed by the community with a loan.
In August 2011, the lighting of the cave was completely converted to LED technology over a period of three months, with spotlights being used to illuminate parts of the inner wall instead of illuminating the entire cave. Most of the old power lines were dismantled. A section on the lead wires of which stalactites had now formed was left as an attraction.
opening
The official opening of the cave, which was known far beyond the borders of the municipality due to newspaper reports, took place on September 17, 1893. Before that, on Sundays they had visited 500 to 1,000 people who had come on foot or by car. Cave guides were hired and the entrance fees were set. Numerous onlookers came to the inauguration with horse-drawn carriages and carts. A pageant was accompanied by the Heidenheim town band. In his welcoming address, mayor Kost thanked Fraas for the scientific exploration of the cave. The celebratory speech was held by Oberamtmann Filser, the chairman of the cave committee, and solemnly handed the cave key to the first cave guide, Beutler. The cave was then opened to the general public. The Queen's promised visit was made up on September 23, 1893. Around 15,000 people had visited the cave by the end of the year. Admission was one mark for adults, which at that time was three to four times the average hourly wage of a worker.
Queen Charlotte
The Queen combined her visit on Saturday, September 23, 1893 with a visit to social institutions in the city and district of Heidenheim. She traveled with a special train to Heidenheim and drove through the city in an open court carriage in pouring rain, where the crowded audience lined the decorated streets. At 3:15 p.m. the queen reached the wreathed village of Hürben, which was decorated with flags. In addition to the Queen's entourage, all the county and parish officials and clergymen had come to the reception. Since the path to the cave was softened by the heavy rain, it was laid with linen over a length of several hundred meters. The queen was visibly surprised and impressed by the beauty of the cave, which had been illuminated with a further 149 lamps, including 39 colored ones. It was led by Fraas to the middle of the cave, the king's hall . The electric lighting lasted up to that point. Then we went deeper into the unlit cave areas to the crystal grotto with candlelight . After half an hour the queen left the cave and went to the new restaurant. At around 4:30 p.m. she first drove to the children's rescue center in Herbrechtingen and later to the train station, from where a special train and her entourage brought her back to the residence. The cost of the visit and the opening ceremony amounted to 2,000 marks.
Show cave
When the initial enthusiasm for the cave waned and the number of visitors decreased, the income was no longer sufficient to cover the costs, especially the high electricity costs. Graduate engineer Carl Gaulé from Stuttgart was supposed to clarify whether more cost-effective lighting was possible. In his report of November 25, 1902, he weighed the advantages and disadvantages of torches, magnesium torches, acetylene gas systems, acetylene gas hand lamps and electrical lighting and came to the conclusion that the latter was the most appropriate type of lighting. On June 3, 1903, a fire broke out in the machine house, in which the engine, dynamo and other accessories were destroyed.
The municipal administration then decided to lease the cave from August 3, 1905 for 30 years to the innkeeper Friedrich Föll from Herbrechtingen. There was still a remaining loan of 5,650 marks from the development time of the cave, which the tenant had to take over. In return, he received the sum insured from the machine house fire in the amount of 7,568 marks. With this money he bought a new motor and a dynamo in 1906. In 1934 the lease was not renewed and the cave was again the responsibility of the local government on April 1, 1935.
On the initiative of Mayor Ernst Bosch, work began in 1957 to replace the lighting in the cave. The light sources were relocated so that they can no longer be seen and the stalactites shine in a targeted manner. By 1965, 203 lamps and two headlights had been installed. In the winter of 1976/1977 the electrical installation was brought up to the latest safety standards. The cave belongs since 2004 to the UNESCO - Geopark Swabian Alb . In August 2005 the information center HöhlenHaus of the Höhlen- und Heimatverein Hürben was inaugurated at the foot of the cave . The HöhlenHaus is one of 26 information points in the Swabian Alb Geopark.
The HöhlenErlebnisWelt with a time travel path at the entrance to the Charlottenhöhle was created around the cave center . The HöhlenSchauLand , a multimedia museum , has existed in the immediate vicinity of the HöhlenHaus since July 2008 . The costs of both facilities, including the design of the outdoor area, amounted to around 1.8 million euros , with the European Union (EU) and the state of Baden-Württemberg contributing 1.2 million euros.
From April to August 2011, the entire lighting system in the cave was replaced by LED lighting . For this purpose, several hundred new lamps were installed on the initiative of the city of Giengen and the Giengen-Hürben cave and homeland association. The project was supported by the support program LEADER of the European Union .
geology
Emergence
The age of the cave is around two and a half to three million years. It originated in the White Jura in a karst landscape . First of all, a cavity formed in the standing groundwater, which had seeped in as lime-saturated seepage water from the top along the layer joints and crevices . After the deepening of the Brenz, which then flowed through today's Hürbetal , the water ran off. The Swabian Alb was raised at the end of the Tertiary in the transition to the Quaternary , the Brenz deepened and adapted to the new gradient. The water was withdrawn from it in the karst landscape and a dry valley was formed . Later the Hürbe flowed in this valley. The former cave river cut deeper and deeper into the original tube and widened the cave. Due to the deepening of the former Brenz Valley, the karst water level sank. The higher drainage systems were no longer involved in the drainage. The environment of the cave has changed as a result. The water had left the tunnel system and was now flowing into the deeper Brenz valley above ground. The valley that the Hürbe now flows through is about 35 meters lower. The watercourse in the cave eventually dried up. The row of rooms with chimneys, the hall-like extensions in the lower part of the cave and the narrow connecting passages with water level markers are also indications of the river cave stage. When the eroded rock broke from the cave ceiling, collapse halls were formed. Stalactites sometimes developed on the rock on the cave floor. The Charlottenhöhle is one of the rare examples of a river cave. Comparable show caves are the Eberstadt stalactite cave and the Bing cave .
Cave data
The cave in the dolomitic White Jura Zeta ( Tithon ) consists of a narrow tube-like cave passage, which is interrupted by more than ten spacious, often quite high halls. The passage formed by running water is often keyhole-shaped. The cave has two directions of fracture; one runs from east to west, the other from northeast to southwest. The abrupt turning in another direction can be observed in many places within the cave. You can almost always see the crevices on the ceiling. The water level marks typical for river caves show the erosion sections ( erosion boundaries ) in the limestone and the frequently changing water level. The cave with a gorge-like profile has a gradient of about ten meters from the end of the cave to the entrance, an average of about two percent. The floor is sloping according to the slope. The cave entrance is 487.5 meters above sea level . At the last measuring point just before the end of the cave the floor has a height of 495.6 meters and in the collapsed area at the end of the cave it is 500.1 meters above sea level. The Hürbetal is 452.7 meters high. The total length of the cave is 587 meters. This includes an approximately 50-meter-long, non-accessible corridor, which can be reached via an eight-meter-high shaft. Without this side passage, the cave is 532 meters long. The cave is an average of 25 to 30 meters below the surface of the earth.
Stalactites
The Charlottenhöhle has rich sintering , with all possible shapes of stalactites . The first third has few stalactites, further back the corridor and the halls are richer. This may be related to the rift crossings that are more common further back. In the cave there are stalactites , stalagmites and stalagnates in various sizes and shapes. There are spheres, rods, fringes, tubes and veil-shaped stalactites. In the cave show some places Excentriques , regardless of the gravity sideways or upwardly curved excesses of a few centimeters length. In the entrance area of the cave there are only a few stalactites, but moon milk excretions made of white, rough lime. Towards the end of the cave, the sintering becomes more and more extensive, there are mainly large stalagmites. A specialty are beet and radish- like, large ceiling dripstones . There is also round pearl sinter there. The alternation between stalactite and pearl sinter growth could be the cause of the round stalactites. Due to the closure of the cave in the Ice Age climate, the mixing of seepage water with carbon dioxide- enriched cave air resulted in corrosion of older stalactite areas.
Guide way
All room extensions are named for better distinction. Some were named after historical figures. The majority of the distinctive stalactite forms also have names, with most of them being named because of their similarity to certain objects. In the last hundred years, a stalactite about seven centimeters in size has formed on a section of the original pipe section from 1893 that still exists. Its relatively rapid growth is due to a sinkhole on the surface of the earth filled with humus . The humic acids lead to an increased dissolution of lime. So-called bear cut with smoothly polished wall sections can be seen in various places . There, the bears had tried to remove dried mud and itchy vermin from the fur. The smoothing was created by rubbing the quartz parts of the clay on the wall.
In the cave, a larger rock hall is reached after a few meters. This is where the first stalactites are located, such as the mountain spirit, two meters high and almost two meters in circumference . The Sihlerhalle is named after the first researcher, the chief forester Hermann Sihler. At that time the mountain spirit was still bright white. Today it has a much darker color due to impurities. The path then makes a bend of almost 90 degrees, followed by a drying path called Vulkans Esse . Then the corridor opens to a spacious hall in which diverse stalactite shapes can be found. It is called Paulinendom after the only child of the then King Wilhelm II. The next larger hall, also with a multitude of white stalactites, is called the Ivory Chamber . The stalactites of the castle inside look like towers and battlements. A narrow corridor leads to a larger hall about 98 meters from the entrance, the monks' refectory . There are many stalagmites and curtain-like stalactites inside. A pointed arch-shaped corridor section leads to the pulpit with the pulpit speaker , named after the dripstones on the floor that grew up to the ceiling. One of the most beautiful places in the cave is 163 meters after the entrance with the treasury . Inside there is a stalactite wall about three meters high like a frozen waterfall. The cave explorers made their way there in 1893 after clearing the rubble at the entrance. The only artificially created passage is passed. Then it goes in a somewhat narrower corridor to the Hohe Kamin, 222 meters from the entrance . At this point a chimney branches vertically upwards about 14 meters. At its end there is a 50-meter-long, horizontal corridor equipped with numerous stalactites, which, however, cannot be walked on or viewed during the tour.
After the chimney, the cave passage makes several turns, followed by the royal hall with the royal throne . There, a staircase was laid out to get into the cyclops vault. The rock is wildly fissured due to the constant erosion. The next rooms are the radish pit and the brewery tub . A special feature of the Charlottenhöhle are the thousands of radish and beet-like stalactites on the ceiling, which cannot be found in this variety in any other show cave in Germany. The following corridor widens to a large hall, the high choir tower . Numerous stalactites hang on the wide, high vault. The hall is almost 400 meters from the cave entrance. Then it goes through a corridor to the chapel with many floor and ceiling dripstones, some of which are large. 436 meters from the entrance is the Hall of Gods , one of the most beautiful halls. There are the strangest stalactite forms there. In addition to numerous ceiling dripstones, there is a large floor dripstone called the Leaning Tower , which is reminiscent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa due to its inclined position . After several turns, the path leads through the Wilhelmsportal . There is a rock block across the cave passage. Two stalactites, one and half a meter high, have grown on this. The Wilhelmsportal is named after King Wilhelm II. From there it is 31 meters to the end of the cave. The guide way ends after 532 meters. Various excavation attempts after a presumed continuation of the cave remained unsuccessful. To get back to the entrance, go back all the way.
Flora and fauna
Wildlife
The fauna of the cave has been explored several times. Detailed work comes from Kurt Lampert from 1908 and from E. Strand from 1907 and 1910. H. Hölker and Hans Löhrl carried out further investigations in 1960. Relevant research by Klaus Dobat also dates from 1960. There are three groups of animals. The alien animals get into the cave by chance because they get lost there. They soon perish because the cave is not their actual habitat. Another group are the cave friends ( troglophiles ) who spend their entire lives in the cave. But they can also exist in the outside world. The third group is known as troglobionts and has properties that allow them to live permanently in the cave. Animals from all three groups were found in the Charlottenhöhle.
Six species of cave spiders (Nesticidae) are known, including the troglophilic spider species Lepthyphantes pallidus and Nesticus cellulanus . The canopy spider Lepthyphantes pallidus is only two millimeters tall. The cave spider Nesticus cellulanus is hygrophilous (moisture-loving) . Also harvestmen are in the cave. In water basins there are small, usually only up to one millimeter in size, white and eyeless springtails (Collembola), of which ten species are known so far. They are among the troglobionts. The ragged owl ( Scoliopteryx libatrix L.), a moth from the owl butterfly family , occurs as a butterfly . Of the two-winged birds (Diptera) there are mosquitoes like the common mosquito ( Culex pipiens L.) and flies like Helomyza serrata L.
There are rodents in the cave known as the dormouse ( glis glis ). Several bat species were found in the cave. They hibernate there from around November through March and April and are among the most highly developed cave dwellers. Investigations into the bats in the Charlottenhöhle was undertaken in 1960 by Löhr. The lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ) was most common . The second most frequently observed by Löhr was the great mouse-eared mouse ( Myotis myotis ). The little blackish pug bat ( Barbastella barbastellus ) is less common. The remaining five species of bats, Serotine ( Eptesicus serotinus ), Bechstein's bat ( Myotis bechsteinii ), whiskered bat ( Myotis mystacinus ), Natterer's bat ( Myotis nattereri ) and Brown long-eared ( Plecotus auritus ) were found only sporadically. Currently, of the two most common bat species, only the great mouse-eared bat is found. The lesser horseshoe bat has not been detected since the 1970s.
Lamp flora
In the glow of the lamps has the Charlottenhöhle a pronounced when lamp Flora designated plant community developed. Algae , mosses and ferns in particular can settle in the area of the light sources . These are mostly miserable forms that could not survive in absolute darkness without artificial lighting. In some cave areas little or no lamp flora could develop due to the dryness. In addition, two types of fungus that are independent of the lighting, the head mold Mucor mucedo and the fir leaf ( Gloeophyllum abietinum ), were able to settle.
The lamp flora was examined in 1960 by W. Weber, Otti Wilmanns and K. Mahler and in 1966 by Klaus Dobat. In addition to nine types of blue (Cyanophyta) and green algae (Chlorophyta), 31 different mosses (Bryophyta) and two ferns (Pteridophyta filices) were found. Except in the Charlottenhöhle and the Karls- und Bärenhöhle , the fountain liver moss ( Marchantia polymorpha L.) could not be detected in any other show cave in Germany. In the Charlottenhöhle, the algae, moss and ferns have to survive a dark period of several months during the rest phase of the show cave operation in winter.
Fossils
Numerous young mammal remains were found in the Charlottenhöhle, all of which can be attributed to the last great ice age . This is due to the fact that the cave had a level access for a long time before it was buried and flooded. In 1893 excavations were carried out in the cave for scientific research and to relocate the electrical lighting. Eberhard Fraas found the remains of eight Ice Age mammals, including two metatarsals of the cave lion ( Panthera spelaea ) and a fragment of a cave hyena ( Crocuta crocuta spelaea ). Shortly after the discovery of the cave, on June 29, 1893, he reported in Kirchheim unter Teck at the 48th General Assembly of the Association for Patriotic Natural History in Württemberg of the excavated bones and teeth of a small, slim form of the cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ).
When excavating the buried cave entrance, bones of wild horses ( Equus ferus ) and reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) were recovered. During excavations, remains of the woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ) and a wild cattle ( Bos ) as well as the large and small cave bear were found. A total of 136 skeleton parts were found. They were taken to the Royal Natural History Cabinet in Stuttgart for safekeeping. In 1960 further excavations took place in the cave, with further discoveries like those of an Ice Age big cat, including a 45 centimeter long elbow bone. Numerous bones such as those of horses , cattle , sheep , pigs , cats and dogs are more recent and probably come from animals that only entered the cave through the dog hole after the actual cave entrance was closed. Remains of ice age hunters such as caves in the neighboring Lone Valley , for example the Vogelherd cave , could not be detected in the Charlotten cave .
tourism
General
On the road south of Hürben there is a large parking lot with public toilets and the HöhlenHaus , which is open daily. It houses an information and service center that offers insights into the geological history of the region and provides information about the origin and history of the Charlottenhöhle. The GeoPark Swabian Alb portal is also located there. The HöhlenSchauLand diagonally opposite the cave house with the adventure exhibition Fascination Cave-Man-Nature is also open daily all year round. On 450 square meters of exhibition space, the history and geology of the cave are scientifically conveyed in various subject areas and various rock and earth layers of the Swabian Alb are explained using models. The time travel path to the cave begins near the parking lot and leads from the present to the past at eight stations. There is a small kiosk by the cave for the sale of tickets and souvenirs.
guides
During the daily guided tours from the beginning of April to the end of October (except Sundays), easily accessible paths into the individual cave extensions and past the stalactite formations with a total of 74 steps are used. A guided tour covering a distance of 532 meters takes about 45 minutes. This is the longest of the guided tours of all the show caves in the Swabian Alb and one of the longest in Germany. Since the cave has only one entrance, you have to go back the same distance after reaching the end of the cave. In the cave there is a constant temperature of around nine degrees Celsius with a humidity of over 80 percent. Guided tours in French and special tours for children and adults are also available on request. During the sensory tour to stations for sight, smell and touch, the cave light is switched off and every visitor is equipped with a torch.
Visitor numbers
In 1893, the year the cave opened, 15,000 people visited it. In the next few years the number of visitors quickly subsided, as Hürben and the cave were difficult to get to in terms of traffic. Before the Second World War, the number of visitors was only around 3,000 a year. From the 1950s, when the motorization and the interest in caves increased due to the discovery of new departments in the Karls- und Bärenhöhle near Erpfingen , the number of visitors rose again. At that time they were between 32,000 and 38,000 annually. The increase also continued into the 1960s. In 1968 and 1969 there were new visitor records with 40,000 and 42,500 respectively.
In the 1970s, the 50,000 mark was exceeded several times. In the 1990s, the annual number of visitors fell back to 35,000. Since the turn of the millennium, contrary to the general trend in German show caves, there has been an increase in the number of visitors. They have almost doubled in about ten years. The high values of the last few years are due to the increased attractiveness of the area around the cave such as the HöhlenHaus from 2005 onwards. In 2000 they were at 26,334, the lowest value in the last 20 years, and rose again to over 30,000 in the year after next. The highest number was reached in 2007 with 47,255 visitors. In 2015, 38,091 visitors visited the cave.
In the years 2011 to 2015 the average number of visitors was 39,483. With this value, the show cave was in the upper middle range of the show caves in Germany. Of the twelve show caves in the Swabian Alb, the Charlottenhöhle was only surpassed by the Bear Cave ( 78,200 visitors annually ) and the Nebelhöhle ( 45,800 visitors annually ) in the same period . Of the 25 show caves in southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria ), the Charlottenhöhle is surpassed by five caves, whereby the Teufelshöhle near Pottenstein has the most visitors with 142,500 visitors on average between 2011 and 2015.
literature
- Large district town Giengen (Ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000.
- Karl Dietrich Adam , Hans Binder, Klaus Eberhard Bleich and Klaus Dobat: The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . In: Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V. (Ed.): Treatises on karst and cave research . Series A, Speleology , Issue 3. Fr. Mangold'sche Buchhandlung Blaubeuren, Munich 1968.
- Hans Binder , Anke Luz, Hans Martin Luz: Show caves in Germany . Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993, ISBN 3-87005-040-3 .
- Hans Binder , Herbert Jantschke: Cave guide Swabian Alb. Caves - springs - waterfalls . 7th completely revised edition. DRW-Verlag, Leinfelden-Echterdingen 2003, ISBN 3-87181-485-7 , p. 168-171 .
- Hans Binder: Fascinating world underground. Caves in the Swabian Alb . DRW-Verlag, Leinfelden-Echterdingen 1995, ISBN 3-87181-366-4 , p. 54 .
- Stephan Kempe, Wilfried Rosendahl: Caves - Hidden Worlds . Primus Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-89678-611-1 , p. 150 .
- World full of secrets - caves . In: Stephan Kempe (Ed.): HB Bildatlas special edition 17 . HB Verlags- und Vertriebs-Gesellschaft, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-616-06739-1 , p. 103 .
Web links
- Charlottenhöhle , city of Giengen an der Brenz
- Charlottenhöhle , showcaves.com
- The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben , HöhlenErlebnisWelt Giengen-Hürben
- Profile of the individual nature monument in the LUBW's list of protected areas
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b LED bathes the Charlottenhöhle in a new light , Schwäbische Post , August 5, 2011.
- ↑ On Monday the season starts in the Charlottenhöhle. swp.de, March 31, 2019, accessed on July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Karl Dietrich Adam, Hans Binder, Klaus Eberhard Bleich and Klaus Dobat: The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . In: Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V. (Ed.): Treatises on karst and cave research . Series A, Speleology , Issue 3. Fr. Mangold'sche Buchhandlung Blaubeuren, Munich 1968, From “Hundsloch” to the show cave .
- ↑ a b c d e Max Hummel: The discovery of the Charlottenhöhle . On the Lonetal website, accessed on May 7, 2013 .
- ↑ a b Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 34 .
- ↑ Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 36 .
- ↑ Charlottenhöhle: Mystical natural wonder near Giengen ( Memento from February 11, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ Caves and local history association Giengen-Hürben e. V. / Charlottenhöhle. hoehlenerlebniswelt.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 . , Höhlen and Heimatverein Giengen-Hürben e. V. / Installation of LED lighting 2011. (Video) hoehlenerlebniswelt.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ The Adventure Cave World / Download Flyer Cave Adventure World - trilingual. giengen.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 (English).
- ↑ a b Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, The emergence of the Charlottenhöhle , p. 37-44 .
- ↑ Hans Binder, Anke Lutz, Hans Martin Lutz: Show caves in Germany . Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993, ISBN 3-87005-040-3 , p. 82 .
- ↑ a b Ende, Joos, Köpf, Schubert - Original plan : Köpf: 7427/03 Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . (1967/68).
- ↑ Karl Dietrich Adam, Hans Binder, Klaus Eberhard Bleich and Klaus Dobat: The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . In: Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V. (Ed.): Treatises on karst and cave research . Series A, Speleology , Issue 3. Fr. Mangold'sche Buchhandlung Blaubeuren, Munich 1968, Zur Geologie der Charlottenhöhle , p. 2 .
- ↑ a b Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 17 .
- ↑ Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 15 .
- ↑ Karl Dietrich Adam, Hans Binder, Klaus Eberhard Bleich and Klaus Dobat: The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . In: Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V. (Ed.): Treatises on karst and cave research . Series A, Speleology , volume 3. Fr. Mangold'sche Buchhandlung Blaubeuren, Munich 1968, The stalactite formation in the alternation of lime solution and lime precipitation .
- ↑ Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000.
- ↑ a b c Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, Charlottenhöhle near Hürben - An exciting walk through the stalactite paradise , p. 5-15 .
- ^ A b c d e Karl Dietrich Adam, Hans Binder, Klaus Eberhard Bleich and Klaus Dobat: The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . In: Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V. (Ed.): Treatises on karst and cave research . Series A, Speleology , Issue 3. Fr. Mangold'sche Buchhandlung Blaubeuren, Munich 1968, The flora and fauna of the Charlottenhöhle .
- ↑ Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 44 .
- ^ A b Karl Dietrich Adam, Hans Binder, Klaus Eberhard Bleich and Klaus Dobat: The Charlottenhöhle near Hürben . In: Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V. (Ed.): Treatises on karst and cave research . Series A, Speleology , Issue 3. Fr. Mangold'sche Buchhandlung Blaubeuren, Munich 1968, Ice Age mammal finds from the Charlottenhöhle near Hürben .
- ↑ Service & Information Center HöhlenHaus. On the Lonetal website, accessed on May 7, 2013 .
- ↑ GeoPark Swabian Alb. Retrieved May 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Adventure museum HöhlenSchauLand. On the Lonetal website, accessed on May 7, 2013 .
- ^ Caves and local history association Giengen-Hürben e. V. / time travel path. hoehlenerlebniswelt.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Opening times Charlottenhöhle. hoehlenerlebniswelt.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 .
- ^ Show caves in Baden-Württemberg. State Association for Cave and Karst Research Baden-Württemberg e. V., accessed May 7, 2013 .
- ^ Caves and local history association Giengen-Hürben e. V. / Sensory tour Charlottenhöhle. hoehlenerlebniswelt.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 33 .
- ↑ a b Large district town of Giengen (ed.): The Charlottenhöhle, the stalactite paradise, near Giengen-Hürben . Druckerei Schmid GmbH & Co., Giengen an der Brenz 2000, p. 35 .
- ↑ a b c Information from the Giengen-Hürben cave and local history association.
- ^ A b Association of German cave and karst researchers eV / show caves. vdhk.de, accessed on July 4, 2019 .
