Hermannshöhle (Lower Austria)

Hermannshöhle
Location:	Kirchberg am Wechsel ( Lower Austria )
Height :	660 m above sea level A.
Geographic ; location:	47 ° 37 '1 " N , 15 ° 58' 56" E Coordinates: 47 ° 37 '1 " N , 15 ° 58' 56" E
Cadastral number:	2871 / 7a-d
Geology:	Middle Triassic marbles of the Semmering change system
Type:	Stalactite cave
Discovery:	circa 1790
Show cave since:	1844
Lighting:	electric
Overall length:	4277 m
Level difference:	73 m
Website:	hermannshoehle.at

The Hermannshöhle near Kirchberg am Wechsel is the largest stalactite cave in Lower Austria and is operated as a show cave . It was declared a natural monument in 1931 and is home to many bat species. The cave is part of the European Protected Area Northeast Rim Alps: Hohe Wand - Schneeberg - Rax . It is frequented by tourists, speleologists and zoologists.

The cave is located in the Eulenberg northwest of Kirchberg am Wechsel . This cliff with an extension of about 1 by 2 km, is made up of Mesozoic limestone and is stored over granite and slate. The marble-like limestone is very rugged. Channels from non-calcareous soils also contributed to the formation, as evidenced by the deposits of feldspar , quartz and mica .

The corridors of the Hermannshöhle extend like a maze on several floors over 73 meters in altitude . They have a total length of 4277 meters. The so-called "wind hole" at 627 meters above sea level forms the main entrance, the exit is through the "pigeon hole".

There are numerous deposits of mountain milk and stalactites with stalactites and stalagmites in the cave .

History of exploration

Two cave entrances, the "Devil's Hole" and the Wind Hole, had been known for centuries. Around 1790, a guardian boy is said to have fallen into the devil's hole while hunting wild pigeons. When he was rescued, further cave spaces were discovered. Since that time this entry point has been called the pigeon hole.

On June 23, 1836 the travel writer Josef Adalbert Krickel dared to descend together with some men from Feistritz am Wechsel . His report, published in 1838, is the first written evidence of the cave.

In 1843, Hermann Steiger von Amstein , the administrator of Feistritz Castle , examined the cave more closely and found the passage to the wind hole. He acquired the land around the entrances including a path connection and the right to the cave and began to develop it. In 1844 he had to sell the cave to the owner of the castle. The cave was nevertheless named after him; the name Hermannshöhle was first mentioned in a travel description in 1845.

After the lord's death, the paths fell into disrepair. Hermann Steiger had it repaired after his retirement, whereupon the ceremonial reopening of the show cave took place on June 28, 1868.

From 1922, Viennese cave explorers discovered further passages. In 1940 two boys from Kirchberg discovered the "Kyrlelabyrinth", named after the Viennese speleologist Georg Kyrle , who died in 1937 . In 1948 an entrance was blown up in this part and opened for visitors in 1962.

The route has been electrically illuminated since 1957. In 1968 a group of cave explorers acquired the Hermannshöhle and looked after it as the “Hermannshöhlen Research and Conservation Association”.

Flora and fauna

The average temperature in the cave is around + 7 ° all year round, the relative humidity is 100%. Due to the lack of light, there are no green plants except for lamp flora . Eight species of bats have been found in cave dwellers, the most common of which is the lesser horseshoe bat . Other animals inside include sciarid gnats, humpback flies, and millipedes. For the small crab Bathynella natans with a size of 1.5 mm, the groundwater of the cave is the only place where it was found in Austria.

In the entrance area of the cave you can find cave locusts, mosquitoes, spiders and harvestmen. On butterflies you can find the buckthorn spanner and serrated owl.

Trivia

In 1947/48 the particularly stalactite-rich cave parts were the location for the film " Mysterious Depth " with Ilse Werner and Paul Hubschmid .

gallery

Hermannshöhle - visitor tour
Hermannshöhle - adventure tour
Hermannshöhle - stalactites

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. 62-65.

Web links

www.hermannshoehle.at
Entry on Hermannshöhle in the Austria Forum (in the Heimatlexikon)