Bing cave
| Bing cave
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 Prince Ludwig Grotto with the Three Peaks |
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| Location: | Franconian Switzerland , Germany | |
| Height : | 375 m above sea level NHN | |
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Geographic location: |
49 ° 48 '44 " N , 11 ° 13' 1" E | |
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| Cadastral number: | C 15 | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1905 | |
| Show cave since: | 1906 | |
| Lighting: | electric (since 1907) | |
| Overall length: | 300 m | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
300 m | |
| Average annual number of visitors: | 34,400 (2007-2011) | |
| Current visitors: | 31,851 (2011) | |
| Website: | official page | |
The Bing cave is a natural karst cave near Streitberg , a district of the Upper Franconian community Wiesenttal in the Forchheim district ( Bavaria ). The cave reaches in the Franconian dolomite of the Malm Beta up to 60 m below the surface and is the only one of the Franconian caves in stratified limestone . It represents a now dry river cave, which was once traversed by a feeder of the then higher flowing Wiesent.
The Bing cave is part of the Jurahöhle adventure world . It was discovered in 1905 by the entrepreneur Ignaz Bing from Nuremberg , after whom it is also named, and has been run as a show cave since 1906 . Since a walk through the Bing cave shows the most diverse stalactite formations in the immediate vicinity , the term stalactite gallery cave is used.
geography
The stalactite cave is located in Franconian Switzerland on the southwestern steep slope of the Schauertal valley, which flows into the Wiesent valley from the north . The altitude is 375 m above sea level. NHN , the cave extends about 60 m above the community. The entrance is 375 m in a west-northwest direction from the church of Streitberg. The cave in the city triangle of Nuremberg , Bayreuth and Bamberg can be reached via the B 470 , which leads from Forchheim to Pegnitz .
history
Originally a length of about 230 m was known from the Bing Cave. In 1936 a further 70 m corridor length was discovered and today's exit was built.
Discovery and Development
The Kommerzienrat Ignaz Bing , owner of the Nürnberger Bing-Werke , bought a villa in Streitberg from the widow Fürst in 1899, which he knew from previous spa stays. One of Bing's passions was digging for antiquity in the various caves in the area.
Bing was told by his neighbor Braungart that there were some crevices in the rock on the slope above Villa Marie. With the consent of the forester, who knew these fox and badger holes in his area, Bing had digs in one of these crevices from July 1905.
Fossil bones and prehistoric fragments soon came to light during the excavations in a rock niche that was called the "Grotto in St. Peter's Wood" and belonged to the Braungart family. First a 30 m long corridor was examined, with sediments up to 1.8 m high being excavated. He kept these in his villa after carefully labeling them and mounting them on cardboard panels. During the excavations, an accessible room was soon opened up. The Wiesent-Bote , the local newspaper of Franconian Switzerland, reported on this find on August 10, 1905:
- "Ebermannstadt, August 9th. In the grove of the landowner Braungart in Streitberg, Mr. Kommerzienrat Bing von Nürnberg, who owns a villa there and often has prehistoric finds excavated during his stay, discovered a cave. Excavations are carried out in it almost every day, and it is hoped that it will soon be open to visitors. Various fossils a. Bone structures have been found so far. "
The cave became the property of Bing a few days later. On August 18, the newspaper reported:
- “Streitberg, 16 Aug. In the stalactite cave discovered by Mr. Kommerzienrat Bing from Nuremberg and passed into his possession, new departments of large dimensions were opened, in which there are stalactite formations of fairy-tale beauty. The cave itself is only 5 minutes away from Streitberg on a wooded slope of the romantic Schauer valley and can already be described as one of the most interesting and beautiful caves in Franconian Switzerland. This creates an excellent point of attraction for Streitberg, which is likely to be of great importance for the development of this health resort itself. "
Additional information about the development of the cave is provided by another report in the Wiesent-Boten:
- “Streitberg, September 13th (repair work) The cave that was discovered and purchased by the industrialist Mr. Kommerzienrat Bing from Nuremberg not far from Streitberg will probably be given the name of its owner. The work on the same will be continued now and probably also during the winter, so that the cave can be submitted to the visit at the beginning of the next year's season. According to the results of previous research, this cave is likely to surpass all other caves in the local area in terms of sights and form a further point of attraction in Franconian Switzerland, which is already rich in natural beauty. Some very beautiful tellinaries were found among the various fossils . "
Further development
A solid sintered layer was removed at the end of the first part of the cave by blasting work, thus creating a continuation. This new part of the cave with a length of about 50 m ended again at a backfill. This part of the cave, today's stalactite gallery, was very low, so that it was difficult to slip through in most places. In four months of hard work, a narrow corridor was laid, whereby the thick sintered layer had to be broken through.
At the end of this section, a small, approximately 1½ m long narrow opening in the rock was discovered on the side, close to the cave ceiling. This opening made it possible to illuminate the space behind it to a depth of a few meters. One could see that the cave continued beyond it after a burning candle indicated a weak draft. However, the hole was far too narrow for an adult, and since explosions were not possible, it was not initially possible to widen the opening. On October 31st, 13-year-old Konrad Braungart finally agreed to crawl through the gap. After a while he reported that there was another large cave beyond the small rock passage.
In order not to damage stalactites in the ceiling area, one went down under the broken rock here. A crevice filled with cave clay was first followed and a 2 m thick sintered ceiling was broken through, which formed the cave floor and was once formed by a cave lake. So an artificial passage was created to the anteroom of the new part of the cave, which one could walk through for the most part upright. This part of the cave ended in the crystal grotto, later called the Prince Ludwig Grotto. A cave lake in front of this grotto, which took up the entire width of the cave, was bridged with a footbridge.
The Wiesent messenger reported about these newly discovered cave areas:
- "Streitberg, November 2nd. (Great cave find.) Probably no one had previously believed that Franconian Switzerland still contained caves undiscovered, as one such was recently discovered the day before yesterday in the Schauertal valley near Streitberg and which in beauty, shape and size surpasses all previous caves in Franconian Switzerland. A few months ago, Kommerzienrat Bing von Nürnberg, who has settled here, discovered a cave with magnificent structures, which has recently been diligently worked to make it accessible to the general public. The day before yesterday the workers unexpectedly came across an even larger cave and much more magnificent in natural beauty than the first and the previous caves. It is approx. 180 m long and 40 to 80 m wide. The very abundant and very varied stalactite formations such as columns, pillars, curtains, figures on walls and ceilings are of a dazzling white color, shiny like crystal and give off a bright sound. The end of this cave closes off a several meter large water basin, which gives the whole thing a special charm. This discovery has added an inestimable sight to our place. "
Christian Kellermann, Rector in Nuremberg, summarized the events of the discovery and development in a detailed report, which appeared in several newspapers in November 1905:
- “Bing probably got the idea that something bigger could be hidden behind the inconspicuous crevice in the Petersholz, when the hunting tenant told him that his dog had occasionally disappeared there for a long time. So he decided, when the first 30 m of the cave had been excavated and no more finds came, to break through the sintered ceiling at the end of the corridor and remove the cave clay underneath, and one got to the part that is now known as stalactite -Gallery 'is shown. The passage is sunk into the old cave filling so that one can see the rich sintered jewelry 'at eye level'. After 40 m this walk seemed to end again; but one perceived a narrow opening under the ceiling. Since none of the adults could pass through, 13-year-old Konrad Braungart was persuaded - on October 31st - to slip through, stayed away for a long time and reported so enthusiastically about the following rooms that again a rock breakthrough was dared, which also led into a further, now opened into a high crevasse. The character of the cave changes completely compared to the first part, in that high crevices predominate here, but in some places they are richly decorated with sintered forms. This third, 180 m long cave part ended at a small lake with a magnificent stalactite chamber above. "
1906–1916 First years as a show cave
The cave was expanded for visitors during the winter of 1905/1906, and tours began in the spring of 1906. Bing's proven excavation assistant Konrad Arndt was employed as cave overseer . His cave-loving niece Olga Hirsch occasionally worked as a guide. One room in the cave was named after her. A free brochure with photos that was distributed to visitors was published in late February. In the first year over 7000 cave visitors were guided through the cave with the help of acetylene light ( carbide lamps ). But Bing was already planning electrical lighting for next spring, which was then installed in the winter of 1907/1908. The DC generator required for this and the buffer battery were housed in a machine house built for this purpose at the cave entrance.
The neighboring community of Muggendorf suddenly saw its tourist attraction with its Rosenmüller cave outstripped and advertised a visit to its cave with a series of advertisements that appeared in the Wiesent-Bote 16 times every one to three weeks during the summer of 1906 .
In 1909 a film about the Bing Cave was shown in the Noris Theater in Nuremberg . The cave then became the area's biggest attraction. The Wiesent messenger reported again and again that clubs and groups crowned their trip to Franconian Switzerland with a visit to the Bing Cave.
A visit to the Bing Cave was on the agenda at every major event in the Nuremberg region. In such cases, the owner used to lead personally and then serve breakfast to the participants in his villa. The delegates of the Association of Bavarian History and Prehistory Societies were guests in the summer of 1907. In June 1908, Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig III. , with family and entourage, Streitberg and the Bing Cave. The magnificent Prince Ludwig Grotto was named after him. The participants of the 44th German Anthropologists' Day visited the cave in August 1913. In June 1914, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria honored the Bing Cave with his visit.
The cave was not only visited by majesties, but also the fellow citizens enjoyed the attention of the Commerce Council. In 1910 and 1911, the cave was open to the residents of Franconian Switzerland on several Sundays in November and December with free admission. During the First World War , in September 1914, Bing invited the wounded who were housed in the district hospital in Ebermannstadt . This was repeated several times during the war. In 1916 and 1917, participants from the Heiligenstadt children's holiday colony were also able to visit the cave free of charge. To this day, the residents of Streitberg have the right to free entry.
Research work 1913-14
Bing also looked for the continuation of the cave. In the winter of 1913/14 he had a sintered ceiling penetrated in the Prince Ludwig Grotto. A small shaft was created at the end of the cave, which was sunk into a layer of rubble. A 12 m long tunnel was driven in the direction of the passage. Then they dug up again, where, after breaking through a sintered ceiling, they came to a 30 m long, low, barrel-vaulted room decorated with stalactites. There were backfilled crevices at this end and an upward vent was noted. The Wiesent messenger reported about this in December 1913:
- “It has long been assumed that the famous Bing Cave has not come to an end with its current conclusion. Mr. Go. Kommerzienrat Bing is currently having work carried out in this regard [...] "
In the spring of 1914, the success message followed:
- "After the wonderful final picture of the cave could not be destroyed, an underground tunnel was dug at the side with great effort, which actually led to an interior space that is over 50 m long and offers further exploration possibilities."
Further research work was stopped by the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. Ignaz Bing died on March 24, 1918 at the age of 78. With his will he gave the community of Streitberg a well-equipped school library as a generous foundation. A few years before his death, Bing himself gave a reflection on the cave he had discovered in his diary in 1915:
- “The Bing Cave, which I discovered and developed, is the most outstanding natural wonder in the Franconian Jura, to which thousands hike every year to enjoy it and to rise. Ownership of the cave is inalienable and, in a certain sense, immortal. He will pass my name on to the distant generations [...] "
1919-1932
In 1919, eleven months after Ignaz Bing's death, his wife Ida also died. His six children inherited the cave. They had the cave administered by Ludwig Bergen in Nuremberg, who in 1922 joined the main association of German cave explorers with the Bing cave as a show cave company. During the inflation period in 1923, the cave was only open on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays and public holidays. Visits to the cave became more numerous again in the later 1920s. In 1928, the community of Streitberg switched from its own unstable power supply to the Ebermannstadt power station. The bing cave was then connected to the network. The unit that had been in operation until then was given up. In 1929, a kiosk moved into the vacated machine house, offering not only postcards but also drinks and refreshments, which aroused the displeasure of the local innkeepers. Because of this, the municipality initially wanted to refuse the permit. However, an invalid applied for the tenancy, for whom the kiosk offered a certain livelihood, whereupon the Ebermannstadt district office granted the concession.
In 1930 the local writer August Sieghardt (editor in Grassau am Chiemsee) commemorated the developer Bing in numerous enthusiastic magazine articles. He praised him for his services to Franconian Switzerland. In August 1931 the visit to the cave was another highlight at the conference of German cave explorers in Nuremberg, although the global economic crisis was already casting its shadow on social life. During an excursion to Streitberg, the assembled scientists were given a brilliant reception by the Bing family, just like in the old days. Sieghardt reported about it:
- “The memorial plaque in the cave for the discoverer and former owner of the Bing cave, the late Streitberger honorary citizen Geh. Kommerzienrat Ignatz Bing, was adorned with a laurel wreath. After the visit, the cave operators were given a snack by the Bing cave administration. [...] "
Konrad Arndt, who has been involved in the development and maintenance of the cave from the very beginning, was awarded the bronze plaque of the Main Association of German Speleologists.
In the same year, 1931, new showrooms were discovered in the Teufelshöhle . So that this did not draw so many visitors away from the Bing Cave, between the two cave administrations and the Franconian Switzerland Association e. V. (FSV) concluded an agreement. A visit to both caves should be rewarded with reduced admission prices.
Streitberg did not want to stand behind the devil's cave and its “wonder earth”. The cave clay was said to have certain medicinal properties, and the operators of the Devil's Cave marketed it as cave mud . The community of Streitberg then also looked for the “miracle earth”. In 1932 the company Streitberger Höhlen-Heil-Fango was founded. It mainly obtained its clay from other caves, but material from the Bing cave was also used.
Third Reich
1933, after the seizure of power by the National Socialists, all Jewish businesses were boycotted . Thereupon the community of Streitberg reached out to the cave. At first a pleasant administrator was appointed. In March 1935, following a decree by the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, the cave fell to the community of Streitberg as a Jewish property during the state-decreed Aryanization . It was assigned with a purchase agreement dated March 30, 1935 against a payment of 39,000 Reichsmarks . In order to erase any memory of the previous Jewish owners, the descendants of the discoverer Ignaz Bing, the cave was only referred to as the Streitberger cave from then on . On the occasion of this transfer of ownership, August Sieghardt said in various newspapers in April 1935:
- “[...] The fact that the main attraction of the health resort of Streitberg and the whole of western Franconian Switzerland, the Streitberg stalactite cave, was a Jewish company has even discouraged some German comrades from visiting this cave, and this was often an obstacle to the publicity of Streitberg. […] The Franconian leader's preference for Streitberg is the finest reward for the party comrades there for the struggle they have fought for years to free Streitberg from foreign races. "
The zeal for research has now been aroused in the community as the new owner. A second cave exit was sought, and the breakthrough that Bing had driven in the Prince Ludwig Grotto was also noticed . Since the cave research was now under state control, the mayor turned to the regional culture department of the Bavarian East Markets, Department of Heimatpflege, at the beginning of 1936:
- "Ultimately, you will be interested in the fact that we have succeeded in discovering a new exit at the end of the cave, which would save visitors the time-consuming return journey if the exit were passable."
In March 1936 the head of the Gaustelle für Höhlenforschung, Helmuth Cramer , carried out a survey of the cave. However, due to various organizational obstacles, the start of work dragged on until the winter of 1936/1937. Since the management operations were to be maintained in the summer, the development work could not start anyway. The Streitberger Hitler-Jugend , boys of the 7th and 8th grade, had to line up along the slope in the Schauertal, and knocking signals were given inside the cave. As a result, the closest point suitable for an exit was found on the slope of the Schauertal valley.
One started with making the breakthrough workable. 120 m³ of earth and stone had to be removed from the cave. Around 400 m³ of earth was moved at the new exit. This work was carried out by twelve men in 100 day shifts. The new exit could be inaugurated on April 13, 1938, which was a significant improvement for the management company. So far, the visitors had to go back through the cave, whereby there was a crush when meeting the next group. The electrical lighting was also renewed and the grating on the stalactites was reduced. A footpath was laid on the slope of the Schauer valley between the exit and the entrance of the cave. The Fränkische Berg- und Wandersportzeitung reported on May 17, 1938 about the exploration and development work:
- “It was a pleasure for the Hitler Youth in Streitberg to be able to help in the search for the presumed cave exit. 120 cubic meters of earth and stone had to be removed from the cave. The earth moving at the new exit of the cave was about 400 cubic meters. This work was done by 12 men in 100 day shifts. "
1945–54 dispute over property
After the Second World War , more visits to the caves began. This enabled the municipality of Streitberg to reduce their debts from the purchase of the cave. It was a shock for the community in July 1946 when the lawyers of the Bing heirs asked whether the community of Streitberg was willing to return the cave voluntarily or to compensate it with money. The lawyers' letter was based on the US Military Government's Restitution Act. So in March 1947 the cave and all its affiliations came under the control of the State Office for Asset Management and Reparation. As a result, the cave was no longer a source of income for the community. The entire operation was now under a trustee. After a presentation by the mayor of the municipality, the office offered to lease the cave. On June 1, 1947, the lease began and gave the community a certain income so that it could meet its obligations again. The trusteeship ended on September 10, 1950, and cave management returned to the community.
The Bing heirs' request for return still existed. Unsuccessful negotiations followed before a quality committee and the reparations chamber of the Bayreuth regional court . After a tough struggle for the demands of both sides, a site inspection was held on May 14, 1954. A solution was found in the form of a comparison. With an additional payment by the community of 45,000 DM to the Bing heirs, the community was finally granted ownership of the cave.
1954-1996
Until the 1950s, the term Streitberger Höhle was used out of habit . But the traditional name Binghöhle became more and more popular . Clay mining was also considered again and in 1951 liability insurance was taken out to keep this option open. However, only small amounts of clay were removed for personal use. The insurance provided as a condition:
- “The prerequisite is that only digging work is possible (not blasting) and that the loam from the cave is carried away in portholes to the fore cave. There, the reloading is carried out in boxes, which are taken over by the customer from the entrance to the cave. "
Until 1954, the kiosk in the old machine house was operated by a tenant. The show cave operation joined the Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers (VdHK), which was newly founded in 1955 . Infrastructure improvements were made as needed. In 1964 a parking lot was created at the exit, in 1970 the access road was paved, in 1992 the exit of the cave roofed over and in 1996 a new toilet facility was built.
100 years of Bing Cave, 2005
In the spring of 2003, preparations began for the upcoming hundredth anniversary of the Bing Cave. The Research Group Cave and Karst Franconia (FHKF) was commissioned by the Wiesenttal community to study the cave and its surroundings in terms of karst studies.
The cave was re-measured in the winter of 2003/2004. This was followed in the spring of 2004 by the surface survey of the entire Schauer valley. Appropriate maps and plans were now available for all further work. The association was able to carry out a large part of the measures with its own specialists. In autumn 2004, the mesh grids that were installed to protect the stalactites and the old pipes were carefully removed. An electrical company from Streitberg installed the new cables.
In advance, continuous light tests with LED spotlights were carried out in the Teufelshöhle . A test area was intensively irradiated for 5000 hours in order to identify the intensity of the algae formation. It turned out that LED light (white) leads to a lower lamp flora than the use of halogen spotlights. When reinstalling the lighting, it had to be taken into account that no lines should be visible. It was decided to use a mixed concept of halogen and LED spotlights in order to illuminate the cave as little as possible. In the cave, the mosses and ferns that were created by the lamps over time were removed from the stalactites and cave walls. The path lighting for the safe step of the visitors was done with lamps shielded upwards. Telephone connections were attached to the distribution boxes in order to be able to contact the cashier quickly in the event of an accident. The signs for the individual departments and stalactite formations were made of backlit, etched glass, which led to an extraordinary optical effect. Such a procedure was tried out for the first time in a show cave. The barriers and railings were made of stainless steel and reduced so much that the stalactites of the cave were much more effective.
During the intensive work in the cave, stalactites were also damaged. Two thin candle stalagmites, each over 2 m high, fell over in the area of the candle hall and broke into several parts. With the technical support of a master stonemason, they could be put back together so that the break points are no longer visible. In the winter months 2004/2005 a new ticket booth was also built.
On March 15, 2005, the renovated and rebuilt cave was reopened. An official ceremony on this occasion took place on April 22, 2005. The cave was blessed by clergymen of both denominations and then committed with the patron, Minister of State Werner Schnappauf . A day later, an extensive exhibition of lamps and surveying equipment took place in the parking lot at the exit of the cave. An animation of the surface measurement of the cave was shown as a wire model on a monitor. The crossing of the Schauertal by a rope artist at a height of more than 40 m above the roofs of Streitberg from the entrance of the cave to the Streitburg was a highlight of the celebrations. In honor of the discoverer, a new plaque was placed at the cave entrance:
- "Ignaz Bing (1840–1918), Jewish entrepreneur in Nuremberg and owner of the largest toy factory, was a great patron, patron and honorary citizen of Streitberg and discovered the cave named after him in 1905."
A total of 1200 hours of voluntary work were done. The cost of renovating the cave was 200,000 euros . They were partly financed with grants of 132,000 euros, of which 63,000 euros from the European Regional Fund and 23,800 euros from the regional economic development program of the Free State of Bavaria, which classified the Bing Cave as being of national importance. The Oberfrankenstiftung donated 40,000 euros, and another 6,000 euros came from other sponsors.
description
The path through the cave leads past the various departments, grottos and formations, all of which are named: From the entrance it goes into the vestibule , to the stalactite gallery , to the cellar man's grotto with the giant column , to the candle hall , to the Venus grotto , through the catacombs to the mussel rock , for Olga grotto , the nymphs grotto , in the fantasy grotto , the cave lake over to Prince Ludwig cave with the Three Peaks , ending up in the New department and output .
In the front part of the cave, in the excavated section, remains of a sinter cover can be seen, which were formed as large-scale limestone deposits over older fillings. Below this sintered ceiling there is a large wall surface with bowl-like solution forms, which usually arise under the water level. On the right-hand side, after 15 m, you come to gully carts that were created by trickling over with corrosive water that followed the force of gravity. These forms of leaching must have arisen before the passage was filled with sediments . In the same area, an approximately 7 m high gap in the ceiling and a room extension were formed in a transverse vault. The stratification of the rock can be seen particularly well in this area .
A continuation of the cave was created at the end of the first 30 m long cave part by blasting. The former end of the cave is indicated by two openwork sintered ceilings in front of the artificial breakthrough. From here the path leads to the approx. 40 m long so-called stalactite gallery . On the right above a sintered ceiling you can see water level marks after a passage narrowing and underneath the remains of a former backfill. The water level marks are formed by horizontal sintering beads a few centimeters wide, which indicate the former water levels. The first free-standing dripstones, called stalagmites , come shortly afterwards. In this area the space expands a little. On the left of the horizontal ceiling, the structure of the cave can be seen particularly well by a layered joint. In order to make the cave accessible to visitors, the backfilling had to be removed and the sintered ceiling had to be broken over a long stretch. There are clear water level marks on both sides and on the largest stalagmite. Several stalagmites have a crystalline surface here, formed by the deposited, transparent yellowish limestone.
Then you come to the next section, the stalactite gallery , in which water level marks can also be seen. The ceiling of the stalactite formation altar is interrupted by a 7 m high crevice with a sintered flag and wall sintering. At the crack in the ceiling there is a noticeable expansion of space, formed in two phases during the creation of the cave; it is called the Big Bang . This is where the cave originally ended.
After an artificial breakthrough, things go up a bit. Back above the breakthrough is an approximately 1 m thick sintered ceiling with stalagmites on top, which can reach a height of 1.2 m. The part of the cave that follows the breakthrough is called Kellermannsgrotte or Dr. Kellermann's grotto with the giant column ; it is named after Christian Kellermann, who died in 1918 and who scientifically described the cave for the first time in 1908.
After about 20 m you come to the giant column , which is in the middle of the guide path . It is a palm-trunk-shaped, approximately 2.5 m high stalagmite, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful stalactites in the cave. It has a cone-shaped structure and its surface is not smooth, but rather peculiarly graduated, so that it resembles a palm tree on which the dead remains of old leaves have remained. The giant column touches the ceiling with a very thin thread of lime. Kellermann wrote about this stalagmite:
- "One could almost say that a wise builder, in order to put the beauty of this one structure in the right light, banned all other stalactite formations here."
In this area, the corridor had to be artificially filled up by around 1 m in order to create a path for visitors to pass the giant column, as this fills the entire width of the cave in the lowest part. Nevertheless, there is only a very narrow passage on the right side. Due to the many touches of the visitors, due to its location in the middle of the path, the giant column clearly shows signs of wear and discoloration. Shortly before the giant column, on the right, there is a grille to protect the stalactite behind it, which is sintered about 2 cm thick. The grid is located under a strong drip point and gives an indication of the rate of growth of the sinter. There are leaching bowls on the walls behind at head height. On the horizontal ceiling in front of the next lowering of the ceiling, hairline cracks in the rock, sintered strips and approaches of stalactites can be seen.
From here it goes through a corridor with walls made of layered rock, called Cyclops walls , to the candle hall . A narrow but clear crevice runs along the corridor in the ceiling. The candle room is the largest room in the cave. The space is expanded upwards by lintel and later leaching. The name Kerzensaal is derived from a series of regularly arranged snow-white, slender, high stalagmites on the clearly visible fall blocks. Then on the right are three slender white candle stalagmites up to 2.5 m high. The thinnest needle has a diameter of 12 cm with a stately height of over 2 m. The subsequent expansion of the space was facilitated by parallel, transverse ceiling columns.
In the Venus Grotto , three stalactite columns, inclined by tectonic events and already sintered back onto the wall, stand out on the right. A fourth pillar was probably only set up at an angle during the development work. A triangular translucent sinter flag is on the left. The following catacomb passage has a height of 4 to 5 and a width of 1½ to 2 m only a few wall sinters and in places leaching cells. In a transitional curvature is to the left on the wall in about 1½ m height of the shell rock with thousands of herausgewitterten fossils . Next you come to the Diamond Rock with glittering crystals . This is followed by a winding corridor that branches out briefly. This is followed, continuing in the main direction, a narrow point with a stalagmite.
From there you continue through the Olga Grotto to the Mermaid Grotto , in which there is an approximately 0.8 m wide and 1.5 m long translucent sinter curtain and a sinter basin filled with crystal clear water. About this sinter basin, Kellerman said:
- "We are across from a secret laboratory of nature where the crystals grow, a sight seldom seen by the human eye."
There are further sintered flags in a transverse column behind it. The following passage with leaching bowls at a height of about 1 m leads to the Fantasy Grotto , or Fantasia . The leaching bowls have an asymmetrical shape and indicate that a cave creek has flowed in this part of the cave for a time. In the front part of the fantasy grotto, broken sintered ceilings indicate the height of the original floor. This is where the harp is located , a sinter curtain about 70 cm wide and 2 m high, and other stalactites. In this stalactite group, a few years ago, different high tones were produced by knocking on a tour. Since the vibration can damage the stalactites, this is no longer carried out.
The last larger room of the cave follows with the Prince Ludwig or Crystal Grotto . On the left is a partially filled water basin. The inner walls are covered over a large area with pearl sinter, which was created under the water level. In this basin you can often find whitish animals a few millimeters in length on the surface of the water or in damp places. The insects come from the order of the springtails . In this lake in 2005 in small water samples were Bathynella - crabs discovered. These tadpole shrimp have been considered to be extinct in Franconia for around 80 years and have hardly changed in the last 350 million years or so.
This concluding grotto shows a rich sintered decoration, with fallen stalactites in the background that have already grown again. The grotto is shaped by the Three Peaks , a stalactite formation made up of three intergrown stalagmites and three stalactites above. Here was the temporary end of the cave. In 1936, the cave passage was dug under the sintered ceiling in the crystal grotto . This enabled additional rooms to be made accessible. This section, called New Rooms , is reached by an ascent. From there you look back at the three broken sintered ceilings with the sediments in between. The artificial exit, completed in 1936, is reached through a narrow, upward crevice with remains of a former backfill.
Historical cave description
The Nuremberg senior teacher Kellermann, who was significantly involved in the development of the cave, summarized his impressions of the Bing cave shortly after its discovery as follows:
- “Above all the glory rests the magical breath of originality and untouchedness. In the deep interior of the cave, the walls still shine in a blinding white; as elsewhere, raw hands have not yet damaged the easily fragile structures. Other caves surpass this cave in terms of width of the halls, but none of the well-known caves in Franconian Switzerland reaches them only remotely, in the variety and beauty of the stalactite deposits, which are mostly within palpable proximity in front of us, from none one knows such shiny crystal formations and such Delicate translucent stalagmites made of pure calcite, nowhere are there such diverse sinter basins. You will have to travel a long way before you find something on par with the cave. "
geology
The Bing Cave is located in horizontally stored, about 20 m thick stratified limestone of the Malm Beta. Although it is narrowly surrounded by Jura sponge reefs , the formation of the cave took place exclusively in the area of the banked limestone. In the entrance area this shows thin-banked layers with an average thickness of 25 to 30 cm, but in the rest of the cave mostly thick banks with a thickness of about 1½ m. The Bing Cave is the only cave in the immediate vicinity that is built in the banked limestone. The cave runs largely horizontally due to the contact with layer joints. It runs through the mountain with an average width of 1 to 2 and a height of 2 to 4 m as a continuous corridor. The thin-banked work lime in which the Bing cave lies tends to break down severely. As a rule, only small-scale caves arise in these thin-banked layers, so that expansion of space was only possible in some transverse fissures in the rock. In the deeper areas of the cave, the benches are thicker up to 1½ m, which means that some larger rooms, such as the candle hall , could be formed due to the more massive formation of the limestone .
The Bing cave is registered in the Franconian Alb cave cadastre (HFA) as C 15 (6133-1049).
Formed by water
First, the cave was formed in the standing groundwater along the largely horizontal layer joints. Later, after the Wiesent had deepened, the water drained away without pressure. The former cave river cut deeper and deeper into the original tube and formed the cave. Typical flow facets were created by the turbulent cave flow. The Bing Cave is therefore one of the rare examples of a river cave. This is no longer recognizable in today's landscape, as the Schauertal and Wiesenttal did not exist in their current form at that time. The plateau in the north was also many meters higher.
The Wiesent valley deepened more and more, and the karst water level followed the lowering; so the high-level drainage systems were no longer involved in the drainage. As a result, the situation changed dramatically in the vicinity of the Bing Cave. The water had left the corridor system and flowed into the now deeper Wiesent valley. It cut deeply into the rock, so that the current terrain was created. The watercourse fell dry and the Bing Cave was filled in with loamy sediments from the plateau.
The work during the development in 1905 also gave an indication of the heavy pouring of the river in the Bing cave. In the soil removed from the entrance area, there were stalactites that had fallen off many times and that had been washed there. In the front exit of the cave there is a wide bulge with a furrow-like stalactite formation.
The karst water level followed the increasing deepening of the valleys downwards. The watercourse in the cave became less and less until it finally dried up completely. The underground stream bed was flooded with sediments that came from the cave or had entered the main cave from above through crevices or from side caves. After the drainage, stalactites and sintered ceilings formed and large parts of the corridor system were sealed. This process can be seen very well in the area of the stalactite gallery and at the cave exit, as the sintered ceilings were broken through there when the cave was opened up. These had arisen as extensive limescale deposits over older fillings. Due to the sealing of individual sections, long after the stalactite had started to form, water accumulates in the cave at times. At the bottom of the cave, they deposited a solid sintered lime cover, which in places reached a thickness of 1 m. In some cases, there were stalactites in the ground in the water, which can be seen from the limescale deposits on the dripstones, so-called flood marks.
Flow facets
From the former cave river, the flow facets created by flowing water are still present on the cave walls. These can be seen particularly well between the mermaid grotto and the fantasy grotto . The facets are smaller, the greater the flow velocity was. The flow facets have an elliptically elongated and asymmetrical profile in cross section. Based on their shape - a flat end in the flow direction and a steep end in the opposite direction - you can see that the river flowed from the current exit to the entrance of the cave. Over the length of today's cave, this river had a gradient of about 0.5%.
The Bing Cave apparently had several active flow phases, as flow facets can be proven on old stalactite generations. Periods of running water alternated with separate periods, and dry phases, in which sediments were deposited and stalactites formed. Between these phases there were again periods in which the cave was flooded with standing water. During these phases, so-called still water facets formed, which were created by leaching in the standing water. These can be seen in the area in front of the stalactite gallery. The change in the different phases may be an indication of changing climatic conditions over the millennia of history of the Bing Cave.
Cave river
At three points in the cave passage, the size of the flow facets, which have an average length of 6 cm, was used to determine the speed and thus the bedding. It was possible to find out how much water flowed through the Bing Cave during the active phase of the river. The theoretical flow rate was 1550 liters per second. This is about three times as much as the largest karst spring in Franconian Switzerland, the Stempfermühlquelle near Behringersmühle . This has a discharge of 570 liters per second.
One can assume that this former water channel continues at the beginning of the deepening of the shower valley at a height of about 380 m and extends for kilometers under the plateau, with an assumed water flow of 1550 liters per second at that time. However, these stretches, like the end of the Bing Cave, are also buried with sediments. In general, the current flow rates in the area of the Bing Cave are very low compared to earlier. There are two springs in the Schauertal with a discharge of 10 and 7 liters per second. In total, around 17 to 20 liters per second flow off in the Schauertal.
Pressure tubes
At individual points, shaft-like cavities of considerable length open vertically upwards or laterally into the cave. These were expanded by falling water and show stalactite formations. These ceiling tubes were formed together with blind branches as a so-called pressure pipeline stage. This was interrupted in the course of the deepening of the Wiesent and the associated lowering of the groundwater level. From then on there was a pressure-free drainage of the water, and smaller auxiliary pipes fell dry. The expansion of space was no longer limited to closed lines. The former cave river cut deeper and deeper into the original tubes. Pressure tubes , also formed by the water, open in several places from the side into the bing cave. These tubular channels can be partially broken through by a person and have an approximately circular cross-section. In addition, numerous small, often branched tubes were formed by water, which during the cave formation made its way under hydrostatic pressure through the horizontal layer joints.
Stalactites
The Bing cave has stalactites in a large variety of shapes, which formed in several phases after the cave brook fell dry. The formation of sinter and the deposits alternated, which is why old generations of stalactites are partly embedded in sediments or overgrown by a younger generation of stalactites.
There are ceiling formations ( stalactites and sintered tubes), floor formations ( stalagmites ) and wall sintering areas. The floor stalactites appear in many different shapes in the Bing Cave, such as the giant palm-shaped column or the very slender, several-meter-high candle stalagmites in the candle hall .
The Bing cave has a mineralogical peculiarity in its sinter inventory. This is due to the special geological position of the cave in the factory lime. Numerous stalactites are macrocrystalline, in some cases even monocrystalline, as in the candle hall . In most of the other caves, especially in the dolomite rock , the stalactites have a polycrystalline structure due to the negative influence of the magnesium ions in the dripping water. The Bing cave is located in calcareous bedrock, which means that the disruptive influence of magnesium during crystallization is missing. In this way, monocrystalline stalactites could be formed with an extraordinary transparency that allows the light of an electric lamp to penetrate in a bright reddish color. The crystalline stalactites also have the property of sounding as bright as a bell when struck. They perform vibrations that can be felt with the hand.
Sinter plumes and sinter curtains have formed on overhanging wall sections or sloping ceilings as a result of seepage water running off. In the fantasy grotto there is a translucent sinter curtain with the harp , the most beautiful example of these filigree sinter formations.
Numerous stalactites in the stalactite gallery have horizontal sintered strips. These edge lines represent water level lines at an earlier water level. Cauliflower-like shapes have formed below the water level marks as limescale deposits under the water. The cave floor was originally covered by a large crystal lawn. These crystals were largely destroyed in the course of the development work. These can only be found in undeveloped side parts of the cave.
There are also several sintering basins in the cave, such as in the Mermaid Grotto and the Prince Ludwig Grotto . In one of these basins there are up to seven centimeters long, five centimeters wide and three centimeters high, all-round developed drusen of rhombohedral, highly shiny calcite crystals. In some sinter basins there are also many smaller, loosely adjacent and superimposed druses with numerous glittering crystal surfaces. In other basins, coherent, completely flat sintered ceilings have formed or the lime has deposited in the form of a cauliflower- like mass.
Excentriques are a specialty among stalactites and are great rarities in the Franconian caves. They grow seemingly unaffected by gravity in all directions. In the bing cave there are eccentriques with a length of up to 14 centimeters in some hard-to-reach places. This makes them one of the largest known specimens in Franconian Switzerland.
In the Venus Grotto there are some stalagmites that are inclined due to tectonic events such as tremors caused by falling rocks. These stalactites are already sintered back to the wall in this inclined position.
Colonization by humans and animals
During the development work, the front part of the cave filled with rubble was excavated. Various human relics came to light. However, no more detailed written records were made of the pieces found. Bing was not an archaeologist and did not employ such a specialist in his excavations. The work was carried out with crude equipment, so that some objects were probably overlooked. During the excavations, human traces were found up to about 35 m after the entrance to the cave. From then on, the width of the cave is reduced from initially two to two and a half meters to less than a meter. It has a height of two to two and a half meters in this area. 15 m behind the cave entrance, the cave ceiling is up to six and a half meters high at one point, but not over the entire width of the passage, but only in a narrow gap. Creating a fireplace would have been cheapest at this point. A total of five fireplaces with remains of charcoal were found.
In view of the cultural layer encountered, the entrance area of the cave was probably no more than one and a half to two meters high and therefore too uncomfortable and hardly suitable for a longer stay. Traces of the cultural layers can still be seen in places on the cave walls.
Based on the finds in the various layers of deposits, three separate periods of time could be determined in which people visited the cave.
Most of the fragments of ceramic vessels were found in the lowest cultural layer, which belongs to the Bronze Age . These were at a depth of 100 to 140 centimeters and comprised parts of at least ten vessels, the remains of roughly pottery pottery that had been made without the aid of the potter's wheel . Most of them were large-volume vessels with a rim diameter of up to 36.5 centimeters. Only a smaller jug-like vessel was underneath.
Among the finds were also few human bones, such as four fragments of a skull, the part of a lower jaw with two completely ground molars, a single molar and two fragments of long bones. Because of the nature of the surface and the same state of preservation, they must have belonged to the same individual.
The second time people have stayed in the cave can be dated around 1500 years after the Bronze Age. In the foremost part of the cave, the soil level had increased even further due to the formation of humus and rock debris. As a result, the relics were on a higher level, about 50 to 60 centimeters below the surface. For a longer stay the lower cave had become even more inhospitable. Only the remains of about seven vessels were found. Five, ten to nine centimeters in diameter, were of higher quality and made on the potter's wheel. The other two vessels were small, cup-like dishes with a rim diameter of eleven centimeters. The shape and style of the vessels indicate the Celtic period.
Finds from a third settlement are likely to come from the Middle Ages . There were only three pieces of pottery from the same pot and different iron objects. After this third, very short stay of people, the cave fell into oblivion again. The entrance was filled in more and more by debris and humus deposits. Until the discovery by Bing, the cave remained untouched for about 750 years.
During the excavations by Bing, the remains of animals were also found in the sediments in the entrance area, some up to 1.8 m high. The bones found were those of beavers , badgers , deer , dogs , polecats , cats , deer , arctic hares , pigs , weasels , bisons and goats . Many bird bones, including the claws of a large eagle , and fish scraps were also found. Some of the animals lived in the cave and died there, or they were brought into the cave as food by humans. Remains of the cave bear have surprisingly not been found, although these were very common in the other Franconian caves.
Flora and fauna
Lamp flora
The penetration of plants into the depths of a cave is prevented because of the absolute darkness. In the case of show caves, however, the artificial lighting of the flora also offers an opportunity to exist far away from the cave entrance. This plant community is known as the lamp flora and consists mainly of moss and fern species . The spores enter the cave through fissures with seepage water from the earth's surface. The cave visitors also contribute to the spread of the plants. However, demanding flowering plants have little chance of survival and therefore rarely appear in the form of pale, short-lived seedlings.
The cave and the stalactites were thoroughly cleaned of the plants during the renovation in 2004/2005, so that these can only be found occasionally. Before cleaning, five different types of moss could be detected, of which the split-toothed moss was the most common type. There were also two types of fern, the brown striped fern and the fragile bladder fern. Investigations in 1989 showed that 93 percent of all lamps in the area of the stalactite gallery were surrounded by lamp flora. In the deeper regions of the cave, in the Kellermannsgrotte and in the candle hall , 75 percent of all existing lamps had a dense lamp flora. An advanced greening process inevitably leads to considerable damage to the stalactites. As part of the renovation work, the electrical lighting was also partially replaced by LED technology to counteract the lamp flora.
Cave animals
So far, 27 different animal species have been detected in the Bing cave. Not all are real cave animals, many of them can exist outside the cave. Non-cave animals only get into the cave by chance because they get lost there. These animals soon perish because the cave does not correspond to their actual habitat. There are also some animal species that are only there seasonally and do not adapt to the cave life, for example butterflies . However, some species of moths seek out the Bing cave as early as late summer, such as the buckthorn spider and the pink owl , in order to overwinter there in large numbers near the entrance. The surviving moths only leave the cave in spring to lay their eggs.
The largest group of animal species in the Bing cave belong to the cave friends ( troglophiles ) who spend their entire lives in the cave; but they can also exist in the outside world. These include the cave spiders and the mushroom mosquitoes . The springtails mentioned above with a size of one to two millimeters are among the most common inhabitants of the Bing Cave . These animals live mainly on the water surface of the numerous sinter basins. So far, seven different springtail species have been identified in the Bing cave.
The Bing Cave is home to three species of animals that are always captives of the underworld. These are real cave animals that have adapted to the cave life in a highly specific way and could no longer survive on the surface of the earth, namely a springtail species, a spider and a crab. The aquatic crab Bathynella is the greatest specialty. This bizarre animal lives in the crystal grotto in a water basin. The living fossil is considered to be the descendant of a group of animals that was richly developed 350 million years ago in the Carboniferous Age . For a long time, paleontologists believed that these crabs had been extinct for millions of years. With a body length of one millimeter, the cancer is one of the tiny cave animals and is therefore very difficult to track down.
Fossils
In contrast to the fossil-free dolomite caves, the Bing cave has numerous Jura fossils . These are mainly petrified marine organisms. Among them are two types of arm pods : Rhynchonelles with a ribbed shell structure and Terebrateln with largely smooth shells. Housing fragments and isolated spines from sea urchins are just as common, and in the area of the Prince Ludwig Grotto there are also stems and sea lilies . Common fossils also include the remains of belemnites related to today's cuttlefish and squids . From these squids only the pointed-conical rusts remained as part of the inner skeleton.
tourism
guides
The guided tours in the Bing Cave go over easily accessible paths and stairs to the individual departments and past the stalactite formations. At the end of the cave there is 55 stairs up to the exit at the parking lot. From there it's about 300 m back to the entrance. A tour lasts 30 to 40 minutes. A distance of about 300 m is covered. There are also special tours for children such as the fairy tale tour or the adventure tour.
Visitor numbers
In the first year as a show cave, over 7,000 visitors came. From then on, the number of visitors increased regularly, with occasional decreases as at the beginning of the 1930s, due to the global economic crisis. After the Second World War, more visits to the caves began. For a long time, the number of visitors ranged between 30,000 and 50,000 per year with occasional peaks of up to 70,000 visitors. In the 1980s, the number of visitors was almost always over 40,000, only in 1985 and 1986 this number was undercut. At the beginning of the 1990s the cave experienced a renewed boom with over 50,000 visitors annually. 54,436 came in 1991 and 54,464 in 1995, the highest number of visitors in the last 25 years. After that, as with many other show caves, the numbers decreased. In 2003, with 30,798 visitors, the low of the last 25 years was reached. Due to the cave's centenary in 2005, when special tours were also offered, 44,700 came. In 2011 31,851 visitors came. Between 2007 and 2011, an annual average of 34,407 visitors visited the cave. With these values, the Bing Cave is in the upper middle field among the show caves in Germany. Among the Franconian caves, it takes second place behind the Teufelshöhle (153,900 visitors on average from 2007 to 2011). In total, around 1.2 million visitors came in the last 30 years, which means an annual average of around 42,000.
Geotope
The cave is designated by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment as geotope 474H006 and a natural monument . See also the list of geotopes in the Forchheim district .
See also
literature
- Fabian Brand, Renate Illmann, Ferdinand Leja, Dieter Preu, Dr. Hardy Schabdach: The Bing Cave near Streitberg - On the trail of an underground river. Published by the market town of Wiesenttal, Schmittdruck Großenbuch 2006, ISBN 3-00-018547-X .
- Brigitte Kaulich, Hermann Schaaf: Small guide to caves around Muggendorf. Verlagdruckerei Schmidt GmbH, Neustadt / Aisch 2002, ISBN 3-922877-00-1 .
- Editor: Research Group Cave and Karst Franken e. V .: Der Fränkische Höhlenspiegel, issue 53. Nuremberg 2006, pages 6–11, ISSN 1610-0166 .
- Publisher: Cave Administration Streitberg / Franconian Switzerland: Bing Cave . Bayreuth printing house 1971.
- Chr. Kellermann: The history of the Bing cave near Streitberg. In communications from the Geographical Society in Munich. by Dr. Christian Kittler, third volume, second issue. K. b. Young & Son's court and university printing house in Erlangen, Munich 1908, pp. 172–186.
- Hans Binder, Anke Lutz, Hans Martin Lutz: Show caves in Germany . Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993, ISBN 3-87005-040-3 , pp. 70-71.
- Friedrich Herrmann: Caves of the Franconian and Hersbrucker Switzerland . Hans Carl Verlag, Nuremberg 1991, ISBN 3-418-00356-7 , pp. 75-76.
- Stephan Kempe: World full of secrets - caves . Series: HB Bildatlas special edition. Edited by HB Verlags- und Vertriebs-Gesellschaft, 1997, ISBN 3-616-06739-1 , p. 100.
- Stephan Lang: Caves in Franconia . A hiking guide into the underworld of Franconian Switzerland. Hans Carl Verlag, Nuremberg 2000, ISBN 3-418-00385-0 , pp. 68-70.
- Dr. Hardy Schabdach: Underground worlds, caves in Franconian and Hersbruck Switzerland. Verlag Reinhold Lippert, Ebermannstadt 2000, ISBN 3-930125-05-6 , pp. 41-47.
- Helmut Seitz: Show mines, caves and caverns in Bavaria. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1993, ISBN 3-475-52750-2 , pp. 43-46.
Web links
- Bing Cave - official site
- Show caves in Germany - Bing cave
- Book Description - Die Binghöhle bei Streitberg
- Caves - Witnesses to the Past? Arte TV, Bayerischer Rundfunk (2015), 26min, cave explorers in the Bing cave
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wiesent-Bote number 178 of August 10, 1905.
- ↑ Wiesent-Bote number 184 of August 18, 1905.
- ↑ Wiesent-Bote number 207 of September 15, 1905.
- ↑ Wiesent-Bote number 250 of November 5, 1905.
- ↑ quoted from Fabian Brand et al. Die Binghöhle bei Streitberg - On the traces of an underground river , p. 8. See also: Literature.
- ↑ a b after Brand et al., P. 9.
- ↑ a b after Brand et al., P. 13.
- ↑ a b after Brand et al., P. 11.
- ↑ a b after Brand et al., P. 12.
- ↑ Thomas Weichert, page no longer available , search in web archives: press release of the State Association for Cave and Karst Research Bavaria e. V. of April 25, 2005
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Brigitte Kaulich, Hermann Schaaf: Small guide to caves around Muggendorf. Verlagdruckerei Schmidt GmbH, Neustadt / Aisch 2002, ISBN 3-922877-00-1 .
- ↑ after Brand et al., P. 15.
- ^ Höhlenverwaltung Streitberg / Fränkische Schweiz (Ed.): Binghöhle , S. 17. See also: Literature.
- ↑ quoted from Hardy Schabdach. Underground worlds - caves of Franconian and Hersbruck Switzerland page 41. See also: Literature.
- ↑ The Bing cave near Streitberg. nordbayern.de, accessed on April 3, 2017 .
- ↑ Geotope: Bing cave near Streitberg (show cave) (accessed on March 22, 2020).
- ↑ Natural monuments in the Forchheim district (accessed on August 25, 2016)
