King Otto stalactite cave
| King Otto stalactite cave
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 Stalagmites in the Advent hall |
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| Location: | Upper Palatinate , Germany | |
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Geographic location: |
49 ° 15 ′ 17 ″ N , 11 ° 41 ′ 24 ″ E | |
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| Cadastral number: | F 8 | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1895 | |
| Show cave since: | 1896 | |
| Lighting: | electric (since 1954) | |
| Overall length: | 450 meters | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
270 meters | |
| Average annual number of visitors: | 18,200 (2007-2011) | |
| Current visitors: | 19,443 (2011) | |
| Website: | www.tropfsteinhoehle-velburg.de | |
The König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle is a natural karst cave near Sankt Colomann (Velburg) , a district of the Upper Palatinate town of Velburg in the district of Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria .
It is located southeast of Neumarkt in the Upper Palatinate and is considered one of the most beautiful stalactite caves in Germany. It has a total length of 450 meters, 270 meters of which can be walked on in a 30- to 40-minute tour. The cave was discovered by the shepherd Peter Federl on September 30, 1895, the name day of the Bavarian King Otto , hence the name. In Advent 1972, another, previously unknown part of the cave - the Advent Hall - was discovered, later opened up from the main cave and also made generally accessible. The cave is one of the show caves combined in the Jurahöhle adventure world .
history
discovery
The shepherd Peter Federl from the hamlet of Sankt Colomann noticed on September 30, 1895 on the Bockenberg how a fox disappeared in the mountain. Federl had already noticed this spot on the nearby Bockenberg several times, as the snow thawed away quickly there and the forest only grew sparsely. He cleared a crevice a little and followed the fox. He crawled through a deep passage and came into a wide, shallow cave. Without a light he dared not go on.
Federl was able to win over the chimney sweeper Josef Erl and the mechanic Josef Kuhn from Velburg for further investigations of the cave. The three courageous men discovered on September 30, 1895 by candlelight a beautiful stalactite cave with many different white stalactite formations. They explored the underground rooms, which at that time were mostly only accessible by crawling or stooping. Since the day of discovery of the cave fell on the name day of the Bavarian King Otto, the cave was named after him.
Word of the discovery of the cave spread very quickly. Those in charge of the Velburg Transport and Improvement Association recognized the opportunity to create a national visitor attraction with this stalactite cave. Over the next eight months, the cave was diligently widened and paths deepened. In May 1896 the first visitors could be led through the cave. Until 1954, these tours were only carried out with candlelight, torchlight or magnesium light.
Expansion into a show cave
The association also ensured that the show cave operations were maintained in the following years. The cave now had its permanent place under the show caves. In the 1930s, wooden stairs and other facilities for guided tours were built into the cave. In 1951 it was in serious danger of having to be abandoned because it was located in the area of the Hohenfels military training area, which was to be rebuilt according to the old plans . The cave owners then walled up the cave as a precautionary measure to protect it from damage. When it became known that the cave remained outside the military training area, it was reopened.
In 1952 the Velburg tourist association leased the cave and rebuilt it over the next two years. The paths were deepened and fixed steps were built in. In 1953 the cave was reopened to visitors for the first time. Electric light was installed so that the torches, which were disadvantageous for the stalactites, were no longer required. The electrical lighting of the cave was completed in 1954. The first regular tours took place from 1954 with Hans Federl, the son of the discoverer.
Advent hall
In August 1968, the 17-year-old Helmut Schlierf, who had visited the cave with his parents for the first time two years earlier and was taken with it, and his friend Michael Kirnberger explored the cave to explore it. The cave guide Hans Wieser gave them permission to visit the cave whenever they wanted to look for continuations in it.
On October 19, 1969, they discovered a crevice in which they kept digging from May 1970 onwards. In March 1971 the two researchers came into contact with the Research Group Cave and Karst Franconia (FHKF). Members of this group were first involved in the dig in the column on May 11, 1972. On December 2nd, 1972, with many helpers and powerful equipment, a large block that had blocked the way forward was crushed. Helmut Schlierf, the first to discover the fissure, was the first to crawl through and into a small room. The other cave explorers followed him and still had to climb a collapse slope through a narrow passage. They came to the Advent Hall, a large, hall-like grotto with a multitude of stalactite formations. The discovery of the new part of the cave took place in Advent , which is why the researchers named it Advent Hall. Seven people were involved in the discovery of the part of the cave.
On December 3, 1972, the surveying of the new rooms began, which was completed by March 1973. The external measurements were carried out in the following years, so that in autumn / winter 1976/1977, after previous test drilling, a tunnel could be driven from the north side of the Bockenberg into the Advent hall. In the meantime, the old systems have also been renewed or improved, a corridor near Erlhain was dug in 1976 and another was driven from the old cave to the Advent hall.
During the development work on the Advent Hall, it was heavily modified and partially destroyed. A concrete bridge with tubular steel railings on both sides and a visitor platform were built over a large sinter basin. Stalactites that were in the way were removed and a once white nodule sinter was partially contaminated and trampled. The sinter basin also almost dried out during the development work. The appearance of the cave has changed significantly as a result of these measures. On June 3, 1977, the Advent Hall was opened to visitors.
description
In the interior of the cave you descend 47 steps and reach the Federlhöhle, which is located directly at the foot of the stairs. It was named after the first discoverer, the shepherd Peter Federl. From there, a narrow corridor leads to the King's Grotto. The ceiling of the corridor, broken into the rock, is formed at a low level by mighty, broken-off-looking sintered columns. The King's Grotto is named after the cave's namesake, King Otto.
In the cave, parts of the cave were named after people who were involved in the discovery and development of the cave. Other parts in their names indicate the appearance of the stalactite formations. The King's Grotto is a room that rises irregularly to a height of eight to ten meters. There are many low, dome-shaped stalagmites . These various stalactite formations have names such as "Buddha", "Castle" and "Hermits".
The path leads past a large stalagmite and over a rocky ridge into the Niederwald grotto. This room is only about the height of a man. Countless sintered tubes grow out of the ceiling, which have different colors due to the different minerals added. Many of these sintered tubes are filled with water that drips onto the stalagmites underneath, which grow with them. But there are also some parts that are very dry, this is due to a low or no water flow in places. It is also a sign that rainfall is seeping into the cave to varying degrees. In a passage dug in this part of the cave in 1976, you can see on the sides how the cave has grown over the centuries. In the Niederwald grotto there is a niche that is known as the “treasure chamber”. There water collects in a small basin, the edges of which are made of sintered material. There, stalagmites of unequal size protrude from the water, similar to small islands, some look like capped mushrooms or small caps. This water basin always remains filled. The stalactites in the cave are dark to black in color. The reason for this is that the cave used to be entered with sooting torches. Since electrical lighting has been used, white sinter deposits have formed again in many places.
In a new passage is the Erlhain, named after the co-discoverer, master chimney sweeper Josef Erl. The mighty limestone vault is supported by pillars and called the “fairytale forest”. These columns, called stalagnates , formed from stalactites and stalagmites that have grown together , look like a forest of gnarled oak trunks. In this fairytale forest there is also a stalactite formation with the name "Lovers". Bones of cave bears are shown in a showcase . Then it goes up a flight of stairs and through a 70 meter long corridor to the Kuhn grotto, which is named after the other co-discoverer, master mechanic Josef Kuhn. At the beginning of the passage is the old cave exit on the right side. Extensive sinter formations act like solidified cascades. A stalactite structure similar to a dinosaur can be seen on the floor . The view falls deep down into the grape chamber. Pearl-like stalactites have grown there under water. This part has now dried up again.
A long corridor, in which fracture zones can be clearly seen, leads to the Advent Hall, which was discovered in 1972 and is one of the most beautiful cave rooms in the Franconian Alb . The white stalactites are already noticeable in the vestibule and form a contrast to the almost black ones in the old part of the cave. Torches were never used in the Advent Hall, so no sintering is blackened by soot. On the ground there are large stone blocks everywhere, which stem from former ceiling crashes. On the fallen ceiling parts there are already rich stalactite formations again. These fragments are often already sintered together again .
From here it is a few steps further to the actual Advent hall . This is a hall-like grotto, which has an abundance of stalactites in the most varied of shapes and colors. The walls are covered over and over with colored sintered pearls, proof that the cave was under water for a long time. Different water levels can be clearly seen on the water level lines. Countless sintered tubes with water droplets stick out from the ceiling. Also striking are sawtooth-like sintered plumes and small spiral-shaped stalactites. To date there is no conclusive explanation for their eccentric growth. In the Advent Hall there are also some stalagnates several meters high. From the Advent Hall , a short corridor with two doors leads to the artificially created exit.
geology
The König Otto stalactite cave is located in the Franconian dolomite of the Malm in the Jura . It is of the indoor cave type. It lies almost completely parallel to the slope in north-south direction, so that today's exit in the Advent hall was relatively easy to create. The cave has several larger halls. The Advent Hall, the largest room in the cave, has a covering of almost ten meters. The King's Grotto is the second largest room and has a mighty mountain fall. In several excavations in the royal grotto, the actual ground could not be reached at any point. The sintered soil layers, which are exposed in profile, reach a thickness of 1.8 meters with continuations downwards. These profiles contain old generations of stalactites, with the largest stalagmite reaching a height of around 0.7 meters. It has been found that the Versturzberg was created by at least two to three ceiling collapses. It continues to the surface of the earth, whereby the deformation of the terrain no longer indicates a collapse.
Geotope
The cave is designated as geotope 373H001 by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment. See also the list of geotopes in the Neumarkt district in the Upper Palatinate .
tourism
Tourist development
From April to October there are regular guided tours over easily accessible paths and individual stairs to the individual departments and the stalactite formations. In the winter months from November to March, guided tours only take place after registration and for groups of 20 or more. From the exit of the cave there is an educational forest trail back to the cave building.
Visitor numbers
The König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle has been a major tourism factor in the region since its discovery. However, the number of visitors was always significantly behind those of the Teufelshöhle and just behind the number of visitors to the Binghöhle and Sophienhöhle . However, the number of visitors to the König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle is higher than that of the Maximiliansgrotte and the Osterhöhle . The highest number of visitors from 1989 with 31,955 fell slightly to values just under 25,000. In 2004 the number was 25,170 for the last time over 25,000 visitors. In 2006, the number of visitors fell below 20,000 for the first time at 19,658. The previous low was in 2008 with 15,977 visitors. In 2009 the number of visitors was 17,034, in 2010 it was 18,392 and in 2011 it was 19,443. From 1989 to 1993 the average number of visitors was 31,000, which is the highest five-year average. In 2009 the millionth visitor visited the cave. In the years 2007 to 2011 the average number of visitors was 18,177.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Tourist Association Velburg (ed.): König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle near Velburg. Page 4. See also: Literature.
- ↑ Tourist Association Velburg (ed.): König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle near Velburg. Page 5. See also: Literature.
- ↑ a b Tourist Association Velburg (ed.): König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle near Velburg. Page 5. See also: Literature.
- ↑ a b c d Research group Höhle und Karst Franken e. V. (Ed.): Der Fränkische Höhlenspiegel, Issue 28. Page 10. See also literature.
- ↑ a b Research group Höhle und Karst Franken e. V. (Ed.): Der Fränkische Höhlenspiegel, Issue 28. Page 11. See also literature.
- ↑ Tourist Association Velburg (ed.): König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle near Velburg. Page 7. See also: Literature.
- ↑ Stephan Kempe: World full of secrets - caves . Page 102. See also: Literature.
- ↑ Stephan Kempe: World full of secrets - caves . Page 102. See also: Literature.
- ^ Research group Höhle und Karst Franken e. V. (Ed.): Der Fränkische Höhlenspiegel, Issue 28. Page 12. See also literature.
- ↑ Geotope: König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle near St. Colomann (show cave) (accessed on August 22, 2013; PDF; 173 kB)
- ↑ Millionth visitor in the König-Otto-Höhle
- ↑ All information comes from the Velburg tourist office.
literature
- Tourist Association Velburg (publisher): König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle near Velburg. Semmler printing works, 2003.
- Research group Cave and Karst Franken e. V. (Ed.): Der Fränkische Höhlenspiegel, Issue 28. Nuremberg 1988, pp. 9-15.
- Helmut Seitz: Show mines, caves and caverns in Bavaria . Edited by Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1993, ISBN 3-475-52750-2 , pp. 67-70.
- Hans Binder, Anke Luz, Hans Martin Luz: Show caves in Germany . Edited by Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993, ISBN 3-87005-040-3 , pp. 78-79.
- Stephan Kempe: World full of secrets - caves . Series: HB Bildatlas special edition. Edited by HB Verlags- und Vertriebs-Gesellschaft, 1997, ISBN 3-616-06739-1 , pp. 102-103.
Web links
- King Otto stalactite cave
- Show caves in Germany - König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle
- König-Otto-Tropfsteinhöhle at Lochstein.de
- Discovery of the Advent Hall
