Klauskirche (cave)

Klaus Church
	Klaus Church near Betzenstein
Location:	Betzenstein , Franconian Switzerland , Germany
Height :	550 m above sea level NN
Geographic ; location:	49 ° 40 '59.9 " N , 11 ° 24' 35.9" E Coordinates: 49 ° 40 '59.9 " N , 11 ° 24' 35.9" E
Cadastral number:	D 32
Geology:	Reef dolomite
Type:	Passage cave
Overall length:	40 meters

The Klauskirche is a through cave near Betzenstein in the Upper Franconian district of Bayreuth in Bavaria .

location

The cave is located on Klauskirchenberg about 500 meters northeast of Betzenstein. A hiking trail runs through the Klauskirche and leads past the swimming pool and high rope course in Betzenstein directly on the north side of the cave .

description

The tunnel-like cave has a length of about 37 meters, a width of up to 5 and a height of up to 7 meters. The name Klauskirche is based on the Klauskirchenberg, in which the cave is located. The St. Nicholas Chapel is said to have been there in the past.

The cave is registered as D 32 in the Franconian Alb cave cadastre (HFA) and designated as geotope 472H004 by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment . See also the list of geotopes in the Bayreuth district . On the area there was a medieval castle stable , which is designated as a ground monument (D-4-6334-0022).

History of origin

In the time of the southern German White Jura , about 161 to 150 million years ago, all of southern Germany lay in the area of a shallow sea. During this time, due to the constant subsidence of the crust, massive rock sequences were deposited on the sea floor. The Jura sediments form the largest part of the rocks occurring in the Franconian Jura and are also the basic material of the rocks surrounding the Klauskirche.

The sea retreated due to uplifts of the European continental plate towards the end of the Upper Jurassic and larger areas became mainland at the beginning of the following Cretaceous period. During this time there was a tropical climate and intensive weathering of the limestone and dolomite rocks that had previously formed. The passage cave of the Klauskirche was created through this karst formation .

In the Tertiary , regional uplift resulted in a renewed sea decline and partial exposure of the Jura landscape.