Lummelunda grotto
| Lummelunda grotto
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 The mouth of the Lummelunda grotto from the inside |
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| Location: | Gotland ( Sweden ) | |
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Geographic location: |
57 ° 44 '20.5 " N , 18 ° 24' 15.3" E | |
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| Particularities: | largest known cave on Gotland, second longest known cave in Sweden | |
| Website: | http://www.lummelundagrottan.se/ | |
The Lummelunda Grotto (Swedish Lummelundagrottan ) or Lummelunda Cave is a stalactite cave in the parish of Lummelunda on the Swedish island of Gotland . Its entrance is at Lummelunda bruk on the west coast of the island west of Länsväg 149, 13 km north of Visby and 5 km south of Lummelunda with the church . The cave and the area around the entrance form a 16 hectare nature reserve . The grotto is also called Rövarkulan (robber's cave).
The Lummelundaån river flows more than 1.3 km underground and has washed out the cave in the limestone soil. Lummelundaån has its source at Martebo Myr bog and emerges from the natural cave entrance on the steep coast. Due to the dike and drainage of parts of the moor in the 19th century, the water flow has decreased. Overall, the grotto has been proven to be over three kilometers long; but it is believed that the total length is much greater. An estimated length of 8 km was mentioned during guided tours. With a proven length of 4 km, it is the second longest known cave in Sweden after the Korallgrottan in Jämtland .
There are some interesting stalactite figures in the cave.
history
The existence of the grotto had been known since the 17th century, although no accessible access had been discovered at that time. In 1924, the zoologist Torsten Gislén was the first to make a number of documented attempts to enter the cave. However, he only got about 40 meters. The three boys Örjan Håkansson, Percy Nilsson and Lars Olsson finally discovered an approach. In 1948 they started to investigate the grotto system. When they were in the grotto two years later, a large block of stone came loose from the ceiling and widened a narrow opening in the mountain wall. Behind it, a 20 m long corridor opened, which is now called Pojkarnas gång (boys' walk). Through the corridor leads to the cathedral Bergakungens sal and into the hall Kapellet shown even with guides. The boys were only able to cross a lake behind the hall in 1955 with the help of an inflatable boat. This enabled them to advance 175 m further into the grotto. In 1959, a tunnel was built that allowed the general public to visit the part of the grotto with the passages and halls that the boys had discovered.
Another 400 m corridors were discovered when divers crossed four siphons in the grotto in September 1985 . The largest halls in the grotto so far were discovered.
tourism
Today around 100,000 tourists visit the grotto each year. It is open from May to September. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions on the island. Most visitors visit the 130 m long tourist grotto. There are also guided tours where you can go further into the cave in small groups.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lummelundagrottan. In: Länsstyrelsen Gotland. Retrieved January 31, 2012 (Swedish).
swell
- Sveriges Spelogförbund: Lummelundagrottan (Swedish)
- www.lummelundagrottan.se (Swedish)
- Guteinfo.com (Swedish)
- Jens Henrik Kloth, Ulf Lovén: Gotland's nature - en reseguide . ISBN 91-88036-40-5 , p. 89
Web links
- www.lummelundagrottan.se (Swedish)
- Images från Lummelundagrottan (Swedish)