Hörselberge caves

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The Venus cave in summer 2011

Originally Hörselbergloch called Venus cave , even Venus Grotto , and in 1928 discovered near Tannhäuser cave are caves and natural monuments in Great Hoerselberg , they are in the municipality Hörselberg-Hainich in Wartburgkreis .

Geographical location and extent

The Tannhäuser Cave, southern access in the rock face

The two caves are located near the peaks and are accessed from the ridge path of the Großer Hörselberg. About 2.5 km southwest of the two caves is the village of Kahlenberg and 1.5 km south of the village of Kälberfeld , a district of the municipality of Hörselberg-Hainich, (distances as the crow flies ). From both places there are opportunities to climb to the ridge path of the Großer Hörselberg.

  • Venus cave ( ⊙ 450  m above sea level )
The Venus Cave is located at the northern end of the western flank of the Great Hörselberg at an altitude of 450  m above sea level. NN . The Venus cave is now 15.12 m long. According to a note from Bechstein, in the 19th century the cave was still 17 pools - around 34 m - long, which would indicate a burial inside the mountain. Your zero point was 448.85  m above sea level. NN determined. The Venus cave is listed in the Central German cave cadastre under the number 5028 / TH-16.
  • Tannhäuser cave ( ⊙ 470  m above sea level )
Only about 100 m away from the Venus cave is the Tannhaus cave on the southern flank at 470  m above sea level. NN height. The Tannhäuser Cave is 107.75 m long, it crosses the mountain in several bends in a north-south orientation. Your zero point was 461.24  m above sea level. NN noted. The Tannhauser cave is listed in the Central German cave cadastre under the number 5028 / TH-16.

geology

Location in the rock just below the breakline
The Venus cave in winter 2009

The Hörselberge are formed from shell limestone . As a result of movements in the strata of these sedimentary rocks, cracks and crevices formed, which gradually widened to form crevices due to the infiltration of surface water, and in some cases were also filled in again, a process that dragged on and lasted for thousands of years. During the erosion of the mountain, the caves located today on the edge of the rock face became visible.

history

The legendary Hörselbergloch

The Hörselbergloch was, according to the firmly rooted opinion of the population, a (Germanic) place of worship that was already used in prehistoric times . Her name goes back to the pagan goddess Holba , also Holda , Hulda or Frau Holle , the kind wife of Wotan . In this context, the nearby village of Sättelstädt, the main settlement below the Great Hörselberg, is said to have been given the name of Satan's place as early as the 8th century during the Christianization , according to the legend about the fate of King Reinswig .

First research in the Hörselbergloch

Already at the beginning of the 19th century, Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching and Christian August Vulpius began serious preoccupation with the legends of the Hörselberg , continued by the Brothers Grimm and Ludwig Bechstein . However, scientific research into the cave did not begin until 1854: the Waltershausen doctor and local researcher C. Polack examined and measured the interior of the cave at his own expense, he also drew the first cave plan. The publication of his research results took place in 1855 in the Leipziger Illustrirten Zeitung .

The Gotha section of the Thuringian Forest Association decided in 1884 to make the cave better known as an attractive hiking destination. In doing so, they resorted to the legend of Frau Venus , already sketched out by the Wagner opera Tannhäuser , and loudly advertised a visit to the Venus Cave , for which a convenient access route was quickly laid out. Up to this point in time the cave was only a crevice measuring a few steps in depth and as a hiking club you were not seriously interested in exploring the inside of a cave.

The Tannhauser Cave

On the occasion of the 10th cave exploration week in Erfurt, the Thuringian Cave Association organized an excursion to the Hörselberg in early October 1928. When visiting the Venus Cave, the Erfurt teacher König noticed another crevice nearby, which was immediately christened “Tannhauser Cave” by the enterprising landlord of the Hörselberghaus.

The discovery of this cave was seen as a good omen and it was decided to continue exploring the Hörselberg caves. In the following year, the 12th meeting, chaired by Hess von Wichdorff, took place on the Hörselberg, where the first excavation work had already started in April. The first findings were evaluated and plans for a museum were discussed.

Due to the high level of backfilling of the Tannhauser Cave, preparations were made to continue and intensify the excavation of the Tannhauser Cave in 1930 and workers were hired. Because of the narrowness and the necessary care, the shafts dragged on in time, so it was decided to deploy the surplus workers in the Venus cave as well. After the first fossils were recovered, hopes were raised in the villages of the region for the construction of a cave museum, a mountain hotel and the construction of an access road to the mountain plateau.

Due to a lack of funds, this work was stopped in January 1931, in December 1932 the head of the excavations, Hess von Wichdorff, died . After all, this work had already succeeded in determining the character and course of the Tannhauser cave and in recovering interesting finds. The partial exposure left a "walkable" connecting passage between the rock face and the plateau.

The Wagner cave and other finds

In the 1970s, further research began in the two caves, organized by the members of the Kulturbund Section Cave and Karst Research Kittelsthal and the Cave and Karst Research Section Wutha-Farnroda, founded in 1987 in the neighboring village . A systematic search revealed further (small) caves and crevices in the Hörselberg area, such as the Wagner cave in the Kleiner Hörselberg .

Others

The habitat of some bat colonies is in the caves .

The following species were identified:

  • Lesser horseshoe bat ( Rhinolopus hipposideros )
  • Mouse ear ( Myotis myotis )
  • Lesser whiskered bat ( Myotis mystacinus )
  • Pug Bat ( Barbastella barbastellus )
  • Brown long-eared ( Plecotus auritus )
  • Gray long-eared ( Pletocus austricus )
  • Fringed bat ( Myotis natteri )

literature

  • Heinrich Weigel: Monograph of the Hörselberge Part I - The nature of the Hörselberge. In: Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 37, Eisenach 1987, 80 pp.
  • Heinrich Weigel: Monograph of the Hörselberge Part II - On the history of the Hörselberge. In: Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 38, Eisenach 1988, 104 pp.
  • Herbert Kosack: From Sättelstädts past. A contribution to the chronicle of the Hörselberg community. Sättelstädt 1985.
  • Specially protected biotopes in the Wartburg district. In: Naturschutz im Wartburgkreis, issue 4, Eisenach 1995.
  • Thüringer Höhlenverein (Ed.) Leaflet on the Venushöhle - available in the Hörselberg Museum Schönau / Hörsel.
  • Roland H. Winkelhöfer: Register DDR-Höhlen Verlag DER CÖHLENFORSCHER, Dresden, 1982

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Weigel: The discovery of the Tannhauser cave in 1928 and the subsequent development work In: Heimatblätter 92 EP_Report3. Marburg 1993, pp. 161f.
  2. ↑ Karcher: New prehistoric excavations and finds in the Eisenacher Land (about the first excavation finds during the construction of the Reichsautobahn near Sättelstädt) In: Heimatblätter for the Eisenach district. Issue 2 Kaltennordheim 1937
  3. ^ Heinrich Weigel The saga of the Hörselberge . quartus-Verlag, 2001, pp. 12-33, 52-72, 105-136, 163-165, 202-205.
  4. ^ Heinrich Weigel The saga of the Hörselberge . quartus-Verlag 2001, pp. 80-191.
  5. ↑ a b Heinrich Weigel: From the history of the Hörselberg caves - 1st part The Venus cave . In: Hörselbergbote, Heft 10 Wutha-Farnroda 1992, p. 11f.
  6. ^ Heinrich Weigel: Monograph of the Hörselberge Part II - On the history of the Hörselberge. In: Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 37 Eisenach 1987, p. 73
  7. ↑ Heinrich Weigel: Tannhauser's entry into the Hörselberg In: Heimatblätter EP-Report 2, Marburg 1992, p. 73, ISBN 3-924269-94-7
  8. ^ Heinrich Weigel: Monograph of the Hörselberge Part II - On the history of the Hörselberge. In: Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 37 Eisenach 1987, pp. 74f
  9. ^ NN Tannhauser's magic cave in Venusberg In: Eisenacher Zeitung No. 237 of October 8, 1928
  10. ^ NN Development of the stalactite cave on Hörselberg In: Eisenacher Zeitung No. 80 from April 6, 1929
  11. ↑ NN The 12th Cave Researcher Week on the Hörselberg In: Eisenacher Zeitung No. 235 of October 7, 1929
  12. ^ NN The Tannhäuser Cave in the Großer Hörselberg In: Eisenacher Zeitung No. 78 of April 2, 1930
  13. ↑ R. Bornschein: The caves of the great Hörselberg In: Thüringer Land writings on local history. 6th vol. 17, Weimar 1929.
  14. ^ Heinrich Weigel: Monograph of the Hörselberge Part II - On the history of the Hörselberge. In: Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 37 Eisenach 1987, pp. 74-77
  15. ^ Heinrich Weigel: Monograph of the Hörselberge Part II - On the history of the Hörselberge. In: Eisenach writings on local history. Issue 37 Eisenach 1987, p. 76.
  16. ↑ Alexander Claussen: The good spirits of the Hörselberge . In: Hörselbergbote, Heft 10, Wutha-Farnroda 1992, p. 11f.