Frauenmauerhöhle

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Frauenmauerhöhle

Frauenmauerhöhle, narrow point

Frauenmauerhöhle, narrow point
Location: Hochschwab massif between Eisenerz and Tragöß , Styria , Austria
Geographic
location: 		47 ° 33 '53 "  N , 14 ° 58' 19"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 33 '53 "  N , 14 ° 58' 19"  E
Frauenmauerhöhle (Styria)
Frauenmauerhöhle
Cadastral number: 1742/1
Type: Passage cave, karst cave
Discovery: 1820
Lighting: no
Overall length: 644 m

The Frauenmauerhöhle is a 644 m long cave under the 1827  m high Frauenmauer in the westernmost part of the Hochschwab massif . The peculiarity of the cave is the possibility of crossing the mountain massif above, as it has two exits, it is a so-called through cave . It is located on the border of the administrative districts of Bruck-Mürzzuschlag and Leoben in the state of Styria in Austria near the villages of Eisenerz (west entrance) and Tragöß (east entrance). It is part of the extensive Frauenmauer-Langstein cave system . The cave system has been explored over a length of 32 kilometers and, with a height difference of almost 600 meters, is one of the deepest caves in Austria.

Origin and history of exploration

The cave was created after the Ice Age by running meltwater, which dissolved the limestone and formed underground drains. Due to increasing erosion, both entrances to the cave were gradually exposed, so that the natural tunnel was created. In the cave there is only a few sintering like stalactites , since the cave is geologically classified as very young.

Eisenerzer miners advanced in the Frauenmauerhöhle as far as the so-called gorge around 1820 (see figure above right). A hundred years later the rubble was cleared from the gorge by miners, only then could the cave between the exits be entered continuously. It is also known that Empress Elisabeth visited the cave on September 14, 1885, accompanied by Archduchess Marie Valerie .

Some careless walkers had an accident in this rock labyrinth because they got lost. An inspection without a local guide is not without risk. A cross on the rock pillar of the “gallery” commemorates three students who died in the cave around 1890. They couldn't find their way out of the cave because their only light source had burned out. So they decided to feel their way along the rock face in front of them. Their undoing was that the rock face in front of them, which is actually a pillar with a circumference of 50 m, could be circled endlessly.

The nearby Langstein Cave (at the west entrance) has also been explored since the 1930s .

Accessibility and guided tours

You can reach the west entrance of the Frauenmauerhöhle from the Präbichl -Passhöhe (via the Leobner Hütte , walking time four hours) or from the Gsollkurve of the B 115, Eisenbundesstraße (walking time two hours). The old chairlift on the Polster (mountain) , which has greatly reduced the walking time, is currently closed (as of 2018). The east entrance of the cave can be reached in about 3 hours of walking from the end of the road from Tragöß towards Grüner See (Jassingau). It is possible to walk above ground from one entrance to the other via the Neuwaldeggsattel.

Cave guides are available from June to September on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, at the east entrance usually at 12 noon and 2 p.m. and at the west entrance at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The cave and its climbing facilities are looked after by the Alpine Club , Voisthaler section. In 2018 the tour fee was € 10. Various cave guides are mentioned on local websites, but all without a date.

gallery

  • View of the SW side of the Frauenmauer from the Gsollalm

  • View of the west entrance

  • View from the east entrance

  • Frauenmauergipfel from the east; re. below east entrance of the cave

literature

  • Robert Bouchal, Josef Wirth: Cave Guide Austria - Over 100 caves with sketches, plans, access descriptions and 150 photos . Pichler Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85431-234-2 , pp. 211-215.
  • Hans Hofmann-Montanus: The world without light . Josef Habbel, Regensburg 1952.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ORF.at discovered the giant cave in Hochschwab. Retrieved November 25, 2011
  2. ↑ At the moment as the last (2018) Rudolf Krenn on the website of the city of Eisenerz [1] , accessed on May 1, 2018.