Bleßberg cave

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The Bleßberg cave (sometimes also called Herrenberg cave ) is a stalactite cave in Thuringia that was discovered in March 2008 during the construction of the Bleßberg tunnel .

The cave in the Lower Muschelkalk crosses in its course from west-northwest to east-southeast the Bleßberg tunnel of the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line . The crossing point is about 250 meters from the south portal of the tunnel.

While an accessible cavity to the east of the tunnel turns into narrow crevices after around 15 meters, the cave extends to several hundred meters to the west.

In May 2008 a second cave was discovered in the Bleßberg.

history

First cave find

On March 30, 2008 the miners encountered a cavity of unknown size while driving in the tunnel. They tried to fill the cavity with about 500 cubic meters of concrete. After this mass disappeared in the cave ineffectively, the client decided to call in the Federal Railway Authority and call in speleologists.

After an urgent exploration by geologists up to April 3, the cave entrance was closed, negotiations on the creation of a new access at a suitable location are to be started.

The request of geologists to keep the cave accessible for later exploration should initially not be complied with. In order not to endanger the tunnel, the cave, which extends up to 2.5 meters into the tunnel route, should initially be completely filled. Shortly afterwards, the entrance area to the cave was closed and the drive continued.

The railway justified the closure of the cave with security reasons. The cave system is also accessible in the future. Also, only the area immediately adjacent to the tube was damaged by the sealing.

The BUND criticized that the attempt to quickly fill the cave with concrete could have violated Thuringian and European nature conservation law. The association filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons in early April . Geologists feared that the concrete that had already been poured in could cut off natural karst waterways , causing the karst water table to rise, which could endanger the stability of the tunnel. In fact, the flooding of parts of the cave already seems to be a result of the anthropogenic damming of the karst water.

After a few days after the final closure of the first discovered western part of the cave, the eastward continuation of the Bleßberg cave had been cut during further tunneling, the railway temporarily stopped further construction work on April 9, 2008.

On April 10, 2008, after a site inspection, the Thuringia State Mining Office and Deutsche Bahn agreed on how to proceed. During a two to three week exploration, the tunneling should rest at this point; then a decision should be made on how to proceed.

The first 700 meters of the cave had been measured and roughly mapped by mid-April. In mid-April, the “Karst Working Group” agreed on how to proceed. According to this, the drive should start again within a few days. It is necessary to temporarily fill the existing cave access in the upper area of ​​the future tunnel with excavated material. Afterwards, the advance is to be carried out in three levels from the tunnel head downwards and accompanied by exploratory bores. After the tunneling has been completed, both cave passages are to be made accessible again so that research in the cave will be possible while the tunnel is being built. As part of a final evaluation, the further handling of the cave should then be determined. This meant that the planned two to three-week exploration was canceled after about half the time. The chairman of the Thuringian Cave Association reacted indignantly to this announcement by the railway and accused the company of acting against the agreements made. Despite the demand, nothing was learned of the results of the working group.

Speleologists from all over Germany attempted to reach the cave from the outside in early May 2008. They tried, over the so-called foxhole , preferably dig a water-bearing rock crevice in the area of the south portal that could provide access to the Bleßberghöhle.

In September 2008, the cave was to be reopened and particularly hard-to-reach areas were to be examined. The exploration of the short eastern part of the cave began on November 18, 2008 and should last a week. A few previously selected sintered pieces should also be removed for use in a museum. After the exploration, in order to ensure the stability of the tunnel, the cavity should be filled over a length of 15 m. During a further 14-day construction rest, the cave was to be reopened for exploration in January 2009 and then permanently closed. Some THV cave researchers were able to explore the cave for nine days in January 2009, and groups of visitors also had access to the cave.

Over a length of around 500 meters in the area of ​​the cave, the tunnel shell was also made round in the area of ​​the base. In addition, the floor in the area where the cave is crossed was reinforced with stone and concrete.

If it is possible to find a separate entrance, the cave could also be made accessible to visitors in the future. In 2011 plans were presented to develop the mountain system for tourism. A passage to the cave is to be drilled from an above-ground information center and a view into the cave through panes will be made possible.

In April 2010 a borehole was carried out to continuously measure the water levels in the cave.

According to a media report from July 2011, the concrete poured in in March 2008 ensures that the underground stream no longer drains and that the cave is destroyed by the rising water level.

In the summer of 2012 it became known that the Thuringian Cave Association had acquired a plot of land above the cave and dug a new entrance to the cave from there in order to be able to investigate the cave further. According to the association, the stepping boards introduced into the cave in 2009 have loosened and are in danger of irreparable damage to the cave.

Second cave find

A few weeks later, 60 meters from the future south portal, the miners came across another karst cave, the so-called Bleßberg cave 2 , which was closed on June 3, 2008 due to its small size and great instability after an inspection.

Description of the cave

The western part of the cave leading out of the tunnel area has an explored length of 1220 meters with aisle widths of up to 10 and heights of up to 15 meters. It has an active stream and unusual stalactite decorations.

In the opinion of experts, it is one of the most beautiful and important caves in Thuringia . Particularly noteworthy are the macaroni stalactites on the cave ceiling, which are up to two meters long and are among the longest in Europe.

This part of the cave was closed with concrete immediately after the first visit on April 3, 2008. The further drive exposed two superimposed cavities in the tunnel zone, connected by a shaft about four meters in diameter, through which the eastern section, which was also heavily decorated with sinter , could be reached. This is about 170 meters long and smaller. According to initial findings, the water in this part of the cave runs from east to west, i.e. also towards the tunnel. In contrast to the western part, however, no pronounced cave stream has been found here, only the accumulated dripping water is drained away. This part of the cave is therefore currently interpreted as an even older, now largely inactive side passage of the cave. The cave researchers of the Thuringian Cave Association therefore expect further cavities in the area of ​​tunneling.

Visitor center

Plans for a visitor center and public access to the Bleßberg cave had existed since at least 2011, but were rejected by the Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation . The reason given was the very irregular fluctuations in the groundwater level and the resulting flash floods in the area. Among other things, there were considerations for a glass elevator that should lead vertically into the cave. Proponents of tourist development justify this, in addition to the individual value of the cave system, with the economic potential for the structurally weak region.

literature

Movies

  • The Bleßberg cave - a sensational discovery . 30-minute documentary film, 2010
  • Bleßberghöhle stop . Documentation by Mathias Streisel, first broadcast: April 8, 2009 on MDR television
  • The Bleßberg cave - a sensational discovery . 30-minute documentary film, 2010

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Deutsche Bahn AG: Exploration program for the cavities discovered during the construction of the Bleßberg tunnel . Press release of April 10, 2008
  2. ↑ a b c Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Environment - Thuringia: How is the cave under the Bleßberg tunnel crossed? . Press release from November 18, 2008
  3. ↑ a b The joy of discovery only lasts for a short time ( memento of the original from April 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , April 4, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  4. ↑ a b A cave that is filled with superlatives ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , April 10, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  5. ↑ Researchers want construction stop for ICE tunnel ( memento of the original from April 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word of April 4, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  6. ↑ Longest “macaroni” and sad cave explorers ( memento of the original from April 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word of April 4, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  7. ↑ a b “Without a doubt the most beautiful cave in East Germany!” ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , April 5, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  8. ↑ a b Performance ended - the cave curtain is lowered ( memento of the original from April 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , April 19, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  9. ↑ Without a source
  10. ↑ a b Deutsche Bahn AG: Securing, exploring and driving in the karst area during the construction of the Bleßberg tunnel on the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 13 kB). Press release from April 18, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thueringer-hoehlenverein.de
  11. ↑ First of all rubble aside ( memento of the original from May 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , May 3, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freies-wort.de
  12. ↑ The stalactite cave in the Bleßberg tunnel is being explored again  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , August 4, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.freies-wort.de  
  13. ↑ Researcher angry: Bahn closes Bleßberghöhle  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , October 9, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.freies-wort.de  
  14. ↑ Tunnel gets a face  ( page can no longer be called up , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Free Word , February 28, 2009@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.freies-wort.de  
  15. ↑ ICE tunnel newly advertised  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Thüringer Allgemeine , October 5, 2008.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.thueringer-allgemeine.de  
  16. ↑ a b c Bleßberg cave in the Sonneberg district threatened with destruction . In: Thüringer Allgemeine , July 14, 2011.
  17. ↑ The cave association dug illegal access to the Bleßberg cave . In: Thüringer Allgemeine , July 7, 2012. (original link to the Coburg New Press)
  18. ^ Deutsche Bahn AG: Another karst cavity found during the construction of the Bleßberg tunnel on the new Ebensfeld – Erfurt line . Press release from June 5, 2008
  19. ↑ List of the longest and deepest caves in Germany from March 2018
  20. ↑ Bleßberg cave near Schalkau opens to tourists . In: Thüringer Allgemeine , May 20, 2011.
  21. ↑ Waiting for the treasures of the Bleßberg cave on thueringer-allgemeine.de . In: Thüringer Allgemeine , June 11, 2016.
  22. ↑ a b Unique pictures from a locked stalactite cave . In: Thüringer Allgemeine , June 9, 2010

Coordinates: 50 ° 25 ′ 42.6 ″  N , 11 ° 1 ′ 12 ″  E


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