Autumn maze advent cave system
| Autumn maze advent cave system
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 Autumn Maze 2009 |
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| Location: | Westerwald , Germany | |
| Height : | 417 m above sea level NN | |
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Geographic location: |
50 ° 41 '15.7 " N , 8 ° 12' 21.7" E | |
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| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1993 | |
| Show cave since: | 2009 | |
| Lighting: | in LED technology | |
| Overall length: | 12,861 m (as of 01/2020) | |
| Level difference: | 92 m | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
80 m (+ 45 m access tunnel) | |
| Current visitors: | 8,663 (2019) | |
| Website: | schauhöhle-breitscheid.de | |
The autumn labyrinth advent cave system near Breitscheid in the Westerwald is the largest cave system in Hesse and one of the most important in Germany. The measured total length of the corridor in the giant cave was 12,861 meters in 2019, the depth 92 meters. The stalactite cave is characterized by extremely clean, white to transparent and untouched sintered jewelry that is unparalleled in a wide area. In particular, the length and variety of the eccentrics is unique in Germany. The cave has not yet been fully explored. A small part, the so-called “ Knöpfchenhalle ”, was opened in 2009 as a show cave , which is also the information center of the National Geopark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus . The show cave is operated by the Breitscheid community.
Geographical location and geology
The cave system is located in the middle of the karst area between Breitscheid and Erdbach on the eastern slope of the Westerwald in Hesse , near the border triangle with Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia . The limestone is not covered by other rock formations over an area of around two square kilometers.
The karst area was created by the growth of an atoll-like coral reef as a result of submarine volcanism during the Devonian period . The limestone was classified as Iberger Kalk .
In addition to the autumn labyrinth Advent cave system and some sinkholes, there are 32 other caves in this area, including the Erdbach cave, which is the deepest cave in Hesse with a depth of almost 101 meters. A special feature is a brook that seeps into the ground on the outskirts of Breitscheid, flows through the Erdbach cave and reappears as a karst spring a good kilometer further east near Erdbach .
Discovery and Development
During a pre-Christmas hike organized by the Speleological Working Group Hessen e. V. (SAH) was discovered on December 11, 1993 at the edge of the mining area of the limestone works Medenbach by chance a beautiful sintered cave and called " Advent cave ". It was locked again and kept secret from the public. Only after the legal aspects had been clarified with the quarry could the research begin a few months later. Large amounts of Ice Age mammal bones , especially cave bears , have been found in the Advent Cave .
On May 28, 1994, near the Advent cave, a crevice that had been known since the previous autumn was opened, through which one could approach another part of the cave. This was called the " autumn labyrinth ". During the explorations, it was possible to drive through a number of rooms, the dimensions of which increase continuously towards the depth. The largest hall in the cave is the “ Knöpfchenhalle ”, which got its name from the many small sintered buttons . The most striking part of the cave is the “ Hessentunnel ”, an averaging six to eight meters wide and four meters high that extends over several hundred meters. In 1995, a connection between the autumn labyrinth and the Advent cave was found in the area of the Hessentunnel: the autumn labyrinth-Advent cave system was discovered.
Research and surveying continued until the beginning of 1997. New cave parts were discovered again and again. From 1997 to 2002 research operations were suspended due to a lack of permits. This could only be resumed when the Breitscheid community was planning to open up the show cave . After the cave system seemed endangered for a long time by limestone mining, it was declared a natural monument at the end of 1999 . In return, the quarry was guaranteed compensation areas.
In 2002 the so-called “ north corridor ” was discovered and measured to a depth of over 1400 meters. However, since it led directly through the quarry's mining area, it was destroyed in the following years. The most spectacular parts of the cave up to that point were discovered in 2004: The “ little cloud castle ”, which with its massive sintering put everything in the shade, and the “ puzzle hall ” with sintered formations reminiscent of glaciers and an azure blue lake. Another unusual discovery in 2005 was the discovery of pumice rock , which came from the eruption of the Laacher See volcano in the Eifel around 12,900 years ago. The research and surveying work is currently ongoing. In 2009 and 2010 excavations took place in the so-called western continuation. Large corridors and stalactite-lined halls, including the “ Hohen Alp ”, one of the largest cavities in the cave system, were found. The research focus is currently in this cave area.
In autumn 2012, new parts of the cave were discovered in the western area, of which 520 meters could already be explored and measured. There is, among other things, another hall over 30 meters high and a corridor several hundred meters long through which a stream flows. In August 2013, the connection to the underground Erdbach, which had been sought for decades, was found via the “south corridor”.
The show cave
In 2007 the touristic development of the autumn maze began. As a show cave area , the 80-meter-long offered and up to 32 meters high Knöpfchen hall, since in this area almost all occurring in the cave stalactite species can be found. In addition to several huge sinter organs, a sinter flag about eight meters long and 50 centimeters wide is remarkable. A 45 meter long tunnel with a staircase of 125 steps was driven from the surface of the earth to the Knöpfchenhalle; The opening ceremony took place on May 9, 2009.
In 2014, the construction of an entrance and functional building began, which was completed in summer 2015. Since 2015, the cave tours are no longer organized by the "Zeitsprge" association, but directly by the municipal administration.
The technical equipment of the cave makes it one of the most modern show caves in Europe: The sidewalks were made of GRP material built and the first show cave was with LED - lighting technology equipped. This technology leads to a greatly reduced power consumption, low heat radiation and a special staging of the structures in the cave, which would not have been possible with conventional lighting.
Since 2017, around 15 parking spaces have been available above the entrance to the show cave. Due to the narrow location of the cave entrance between the district road and the limestone quarry, parking spaces could no longer be created there, so visitors should accept a one-kilometer long but beautiful footpath along the karst and cave nature trail from Breitscheid or Erdbach. The cave is open on weekends and Hessian public holidays as well as on Wednesday afternoons during the Hessian holidays. Tours for a maximum of 15 people take place every hour. Due to the limited capacity, it is recommended that you book tickets in advance.
Visitor numbers
The number of visitors to the show cave has developed as follows since it opened:
| year | Visitors |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 10,517 |
| 2010 | 11,193 |
| 2011 | 8,749 |
| 2012 | 8,203 |
| 2013 | 7,254 |
| 2014 | 7,280 |
| 2015 | 4,754 |
| 2016 | 6,637 |
| 2017 | 7,674 |
| 2018 | 7,830 |
| 2019 | 8,663 |
literature
- Speleological Working Group Hessen e. V. (SAH): The autumn labyrinth and the karst in the municipality of Breitscheid in the Westerwald. 2012, DNB 1034298348 .
See also
Web links
- Website of the autumn labyrinth show cave with information and opening times
- Speleological Working Group Hessen e. V .: The Breitscheid cave researchers.
- Information on the website of the community Breitscheid.
- Hessischer Rundfunk: Stories from Hessen: The cave explorers from Herborn. ARD media library, September 2015.
Individual evidence
- ^ Longest and deepest caves in Germany - Arge Grabenstetten. Thilo Müller and Andreas Wolf, ARGE Höhle & Karst Grabenstetten e. V., January 2020, accessed on January 27, 2020 .
- ↑ Speleological Working Group Hessen e. V.
- ^ Dill newspaper. November 24, 2012, p. 20.
- ↑ Course of the Erdbach found. In: Mittelhessen.de. 22nd August 2013.
- ↑ Ingo Dorsten: show cave autumn labyrinth - from planning to completion. In: schauhöhle-Breitscheid.de. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
- ↑ Containers disappear . In: Mittelhessen.de. 19th August 2014.
- ↑ On the Internet under booking calendar at schauhöhle-Breitscheid.de , accessed on February 27, 2017
- ↑ Dill-Zeitung of December 14, 2019, page 9