Mønsted lime pits
The former Mønsted limestone pits (Danish: Kalkgruber) are located in Jutland , about 14 km west of Viborg , Denmark. They are the largest contiguous man-made limestone caves in the world. The underground system comprises corridors totaling around 60 km in length, which are up to six floors above each other. Some of the cavities form domes 16 to 18 m high. There are underground streams and lakes.
history
During the Cretaceous Period , 135–65 million years ago, Denmark was covered by a shallow sea. In it lived algae with a calcareous shell, which fell when they die to the ground and formed over time huge deposits. These younger deposits became bryozoal limestone , the older ones the so-called writing chalk , as can also be found at Erslev , Hanstholm , Svinkløv , as well as at Daugbjerg and Mønsted. The fact that the 75 m thick layer of limestone, in which a 25 cm thick layer of flint is embedded, is close to the surface at Mønsted, is thanks to a salt dome.
The oldest corridors were carved about 1000 years ago, the youngest date from the 20th century. Written documents about limestone mining do not exist until the 1760s. For the farmers of Daugbjerg and Mønsted, lime mining was a sideline job for 800 years, which they did in winter. Lime was only mined year-round from 1820. In 1955 the mine was closed. Today around two kilometers are electrically lit and can be viewed.
The well-known violinist Anker Buch bought the pits in 1981. Recognized artists gave concerts in the factory building and the underground rooms and established a tradition that lives on. The temperature in the pits is a constant 8 ° C. Because of this constancy, 250 tons of cheese from the dairy in Toulov are stored here for maturation. In 1997 the “Skov- og Naturstyrelsen” bought the lime pits, the factory buildings and 14 hectares of land, so that the pits are under nature conservation and monument protection.
tourism
The disused limestone pits are open to tourism. Within the regular opening times, visitors can enter and explore the caves relatively independently for an entrance fee. About 2 km of the cave passages are illuminated. Every 30 minutes, a 10-minute film showing the history and importance of the lime pit is played in a particularly suitable part of the cave. German and English subtitles are displayed. The workshop is now used as a museum. a. Display boards and models of the factory, bat preparations and the original narrow-gauge railway of the mine are on display.
Bats
The protection applies to the most important wintering point for bats , but the cultural history associated with the pits also had to be protected. With the nearby Daugbjerg lime pits, the pits in Mønsted are the most important winter quarters for bats in Europe . About 10,000 bats (Danish Flagermus) spend the winter in the two lime pits. There are five species, including the rare pond bat . In August, they meet in the pits to mate before hibernating. In spring they spread all over Jutland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. on part of the information in this section: Mønsted Kalkgruben: Information ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
Web links
Coordinates: 56 ° 27 '22 " N , 9 ° 9' 59" E