Marienglashöhle
| Marienglashöhle
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| Location: | Thuringia , Germany | |
| Height : | 475 m above sea level NN | |
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Geographic location: |
50 ° 51 '45.3 " N , 10 ° 32' 29.8" E | |
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| Geology: | Zechstein | |
| Type: | Large gypsum crystal gland | |
| Discovery: | 1775/1784 | |
| Show cave since: | 1903 | |
| Lighting: | electric (since 1929) | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
300 meters (with access tunnel) |
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| Average annual number of visitors: | 71,300 (2007-2011) | |
| Current visitors: | 68,416 (2011) | |
| Particularities: | Large gypsum crystal druse in the former mine | |
| Website: | official page | |
The Marienglashöhle is a show cave in the Thuringian Forest . For the most part, it is not a natural cave, but consists mainly of cavities that were created by gypsum and copper mining . That is why it is also run as a show mine . The cave, registered as a geological natural monument, lies in the middle between the two villages of Friedrichroda and Bad Tabarz . There is a large car park nearby on Bundesstrasse 88 and a Thuringian Forest Railway stop named after her . The cave is accessible via guided tours and has around 71,000 visitors annually.
In 1775 the construction of the entrance tunnel began with the intention of mining copper . No copper slate was found, but a gypsum deposit was found in 1778 . Gypsum was mined underground until 1903 . In 1784 one of the largest and most beautiful gypsum crystal druses in Europe was discovered. With a diameter of about ten meters, it was almost completely lined with colorless and transparent gypsum crystals, called Marienglas .
This material from the Marienglashöhle was used until 1848 in churches and monasteries to decorate altars , chandeliers and paintings . After the mine was closed in 1903, the exhibition facility was opened. Due to the war, the cave was closed twice. After extensive renovation work, the Marienglashöhle has been accessible again since November 30, 1968.
geology
The cave is located about 15 km southwest of Gotha on the northeast edge of the Thuringian Forest, at the transition to the Thuringian Basin on the edge of the Waltershausen foothills. Fractional tectonic processes in connection with the uplifting of the Thuringian Forest caused the sedimentary rocks in the transition area between Triassic and Zechstein to be dragged into an inclined to steep position with inclines of 70 degrees. This tectonically stressed the rocks. The Marienglashöhle runs through the layers of Buntsandstein and Zechstein, which plunge steeply to the northeast .
Much of the cave consists of artificial cavities created by mining. In the entrance tunnel there is initially red sandstone. This is followed by the dolomite of the upper Zechstein, and finally the gypsum of the lower Zechstein. The rock sequences are visible through five geological viewing windows several meters wide, which were left open when the entrance tunnel , the Herzog-Ernst tunnel , was walled. The lower level has a footprint of around 80 by 30 meters and is around four meters high. The upper level measures 120 by 40 meters and is four to six meters high.
Only the crystal grotto is of natural origin. The seven by ten meter large and up to ten meter high chimney was created by leaching . It is lined with large, colorless to translucent white gypsum spar crystals, which arose over millions of years from an aqueous solution of calcium sulfate that penetrated with the seepage and groundwater . In contrast to most of the other cavities in gypsum, the gypsum was crystallized in the cavity, which was completely filled with crystals. The crystals, called Marienglas , consist of calcium sulfate; From a mineralogical point of view, they are gypsum and in this particular crystal form they are called selenite . In the crystal grotto you can see gypsum crystals with a thickness of two to eight centimeters and a length of up to 90 centimeters. It is one of the largest and most beautiful crystal grottos in Europe. There are also natural gypsum caves in the karst area on the southern edge of the Harz , for example the Heimkehle .
history
Mining
In Friedrichroda, the mining of iron ore , initially in the mine Bau auf Gott , is documented from 1538. In 1775, at the foot of the 697 meter high Abtsberg, the construction of an exploratory tunnel , the Herzog Ernst tunnel , began. Copper slate was searched for , but was not found. In 1778 the gypsum deposit known from the open pit was encountered . A huge gypsum store with the plastered Werra anhydrite , which was mined from this year on, was approached. The gypsum mining could only be carried out with a maximum of four miners at the same time because of the poor ventilation through the access tunnel . They used vegetable oil lamps for lighting , which had about the brightness of a candle flame and polluted the cave air. This created the cavities of the Marienglashöhle. The reduction was after a year when the tunnels , presumably set had a length of about 75 meters due to the insufficient coverage initially. The state government of Saxony-Gotha leased the tunnel in 1778 to Johann Buschmann from Friedrichroda, organ builder and father of Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann . He had a farm building , a half-timbered house and a kiln built in front of the tunnel mouth hole . There the plaster of paris was baked and sold as plaster of paris . Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Privy Councilor and Minister from Weimar , visited the Herzog-Ernst-Stollen on May 10, 1782, accompanied by Bergrat Carl Friedrich Baum from Friedrichroda.
Discovery of the crystal grotto
In 1784, according to another source in 1787, a large cavity created by leaching was encountered during gypsum mining, which was completely lined with gypsum crystals and was therefore called the crystal grotto. After the discovery, the crystals began to break down. The main customers were churches and monasteries. The crystals could be easily split due to their low degree of hardness of two on the Mohs scale (scratchable with a fingernail), were completely transparent and reflected the incident light through the pearlescent sheen on the split surfaces. The material worked well for decorating chandeliers , altars, and paintings lit by candles. It was also used as a glass substitute for paintings of Mother Mary and for reliquary containers . That is why the gypsum crystals from Friedrichroda were given the name Marienglas . In contrast to the glass of the time, the leaves were free of bubbles and evenly thin. The material used to be called women's ice cream as an allusion to the purity and virginity of a woman .
Show and mine operation
On September 16, 1845, the mountain master Heinrich Credner published the first scientific description of the cave. The gypsum crystals were mined until 1848, after which further mining was prohibited. The gypsum mining was initially continued. Because of the increasing number of visitors, the cave was lit with candles on Sundays from around 1850. The Marienglashöhle was already described in a Thuringian travel guide in 1854. After the lease ended, on August 16, 1871, the Tenneberg office handed the mine over to the chief forester Julius Trebsdorf and the "forest tenant corporation" Rost for care. At that time, two miners, Johannes Steiding and Heinrich Holdschuh, were still working in the mine, who were used as guides for the numerous guests in the summer months. After a control inspection in November 1871, Trebsdorf received conditions such as the re- wooding of the tunnel, the introduction of new walkways, the securing of the quarry south of the tunnel entrance and the old open-cast mines from 1730 with fences, the renovation of the dilapidated common room for the miners and the construction of an accommodation building. The experienced miner Heinrich Holdschuh, who was promoted to the top climber, was entrusted with the supervision underground . On March 2, 1876, he took over the management of the Marienglashöhle. In order to increase its attractiveness, a fountain and visually more appealing supporting pillars were installed during the low-visitor period. On April 1, 1888 Fritz Kobstädt succeeded Holdschuh. From April 1901, the two Friedrichrodaers Karl Brühl and Heinrich Steinbach took his place.
Show cave
In 1903 the gypsum mining was stopped. From the discovery of the deposit in 1778 to 1903, around 20,000 tons were mined. From then on the cave was only available to tourists. There was regular visitor traffic, which is to be seen as the official start of the show cave operation. The show cave consisted of the entrance tunnel and the upper floor, supported by nine pillars, the great hall . Below is the lower sole with the crystal grotto. The two tenants had gas lighting installed in 1904 for 1,600 marks, which replaced the lighting with candles. In the new travel guide for Friedrichroda and the surrounding area from 1906, it is stated that the cave was additionally lit with 400 candles on Sundays to further increase its attractiveness. Back then, a tour of the upper and lower sole cost 50 pfennigs with a duration of 20 minutes, half for children. In 1907 a kiosk with minerals and souvenirs was set up. In the same year a new pumping system was installed. In 1910 the tunnel walls were fixed up to four meters deep with quarry stone masonry. During the First World War , gas and gasoline , even candles, became increasingly scarce to illuminate the cave. From 1914, the cave operators had to struggle with water ingress. In June 1917 the cave had to be closed. In 1920 the state property management in Gotha handed over the meanwhile badly battered cave to the Kurverwaltung Friedrichroda for free use with the condition that the urgently needed repair measures be carried out. For around 12,000 Reichsmarks, the master plumber Windau built a 230-meter-long siphon line for drainage in order to be able to absorb the seepage water that kept coming in. After extensive renovation and security work, the cave was reopened. In 1929 an electrical line was laid with which the objects on display could be illuminated. The Thuringian Forest Railway , the route of which passed the cave in 1929, set up a stop below the cave .
During the Second World War , part of the production facility of the Gothaer Waggonfabrik was located in the cave. There, parts for the Focke-Wulf Ta 152 fighter plane were manufactured on an area of 5000 square meters . At the beginning of the war the cave could still be visited. In the spring of 1943, however, it was closed because there was no more money to run it. No maintenance work was carried out after the war. All cavities filled with water, as the pumping failed, and the access tunnel collapsed.
New opening
In 1952 and 1953 miners from the VEB Schachtbau Nordhausen searched the neglected facility for copper mulm, loose copper ore interspersed with other metals, which was used as a dye. Since the deposit was not big enough for mining, the search was stopped after a total drive of 312 meters. In 1964, on behalf of the City Council of Friedrichroda, preparatory work began to reopen the Marienglashöhle. In 1965, miners from the VEB Thuringian Spat and Iron Ore Mines in Schmalkalden penetrated the collapsed tunnel and advanced to the cave. The Friedrichroda fire brigade drained the cave with powerful pumps. A comprehensive restoration took place in 1967 and 1968 and took a total of 16 months. An artificial waterfall was created, the water of which is pumped up from the cave lake in the lower level. An exit tunnel was also created so that the visitor can walk a circular route. The entrance tunnel, the Herzog-Ernst-tunnel, was newly bricked up and provided with five so-called geological windows , in which the visitors get an impression of the geological structure. In the same year the crystal grotto was placed under protection as a geological natural monument . On November 30, 1968, the show and teaching object was reopened to visitors. In 1974 another gallery from the 18th century was uncovered. The cave complex was continuously improved and adapted to the needs of the visitors.
Show cave or mine
The show facility can be called a show cave or a show mine. Most of the cave, the accessible upper and lower levels , was created by mining over a period of around 100 years. The crystal grotto, the only natural cavity, was discovered. The show cave operator calls the facility a show mine. The exhibits on display also suggest this. However, the high number of visitors to the exhibition facility is due to the natural crystal grotto. In the specialist literature, the exhibition facility is listed both as a mine and as a show cave. The Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers calls the Marienglashöhle a show cave. The Thuringian Institute for Environment and Geology , based in Jena, also assigns the exhibition facility to the show caves. The cave cadastre of Central Germany (also published as the register of GDR caves ) managed by the cave research group Dresden (Roland H. Winkelhöfer) does not count the object among the caves because it was created by human activity (including the mining of plaster).
description
The cave tour begins in the 110-meter-long Herzog-Ernst-Stollen with explanations of the history of the exhibition and the formation of the Thuringian Forest. On the right and left in the tunnel wall there are geological windows where you can see the rock layers and their steep location. On the left at the end point of the tunnel in the upper level, the guide switches on an artificial waterfall for about a minute. This is followed by a widening as an extension of the entrance tunnel. The door frame is located there . The tunnel continues for another 100 meters into the mountain, but this part is not used during guided tours. In this tunnel - a piece of it is unfinished - no minable ores could be found. In the middle of the large cavity created by dismantling , there is a reel on the die , the former workplace. On Gesenkpfeiler are in a showcase gezähe the miners to see from 1795, tools. At this point, the broken gypsum rock was conveyed from the lower to the upper level with a reel and cage .
The stairs lead down to the crystal grotto. This is of great geological and mineralogical importance. It contains gypsum crystals up to 90 centimeters long, but also fast-growing stalactites , stalagmites and stalactites made of calcium sulfate. Part of the wall is encrusted with sinter , the brownish color of which is due to iron ores. The cave lake is bridged with a 70 meter long man-made footbridge, then 35 steps lead to the western part of the show cave on the upper level. On the way there you can see more recent stalactites, which were created after the cave was expanded in 1967/1968. They are made of lime that has been loosened from the concrete pillars. Secondary plaster of paris can also be seen here between layers of clay and lettuce . Minerals , rocks and fossils are displayed in showcases. The visitor returns to the open air via the exit tunnel.
Flora and fauna
Various species of spiders (Nesticidae) live on the ceiling in the tunnels of the cave entrance and exit . In the cave there are a few fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) , which got in via the access tunnels, as they are not cave friends ( troglophiles ). In the Marienglashoehle has such a pronounced than in other underground scene objects with electric lighting in the area of lamps Lamp Flora designated plant community developed. Algae , moss , mushrooms and ferns in particular could settle in the area of the individual light sources . These are mostly miserable forms that could not survive in absolute darkness without artificial lighting. These plants are not evenly distributed. It depends on which spores get into the cave with the seepage water from the earth's surface through fissures or were introduced by the cave visitors. In some cave areas little or no lamp flora could develop due to the dryness.
tourism
guides
The cave is only accessible as part of the guided tours, which take place daily all year round, or during special tours and concerts. It can be reached from a large car park on Bundesstraße 88 Friedrichroda– Bad Tabarz . From there, a 150 meter long footpath leads to the cave in about five minutes. Handicapped people can drive up to the cave with the motor vehicle. The Thuringian Forest Railway passes in the immediate vicinity . The Marienglashöhle can be reached from the tram stop of the same name.
The guided tours go over easily accessible paths and stairs to the individual cave sections. In the cave there is a constant temperature of around eight to ten degrees Celsius with a humidity of over 80 percent. A tour lasts around 45 minutes. The approximately 300 meter long path leads over a total of around 100 steps. The upper level of the cave is accessible for wheelchair users with a view of the crystal grotto. There are also special tours with an extended range of services, as well as tours in English and French. Several times a year concerts take place in the Marienglashöhle, where it is lit with several hundred candles.
Visitor numbers
In 1969, the first year after the reopening in November 1968, 216,773 visitors came. The highest number of visitors was recorded in the 1970s with over 200,000 annually. The peak year was 1978 with 237,750 visitors. Only a few show caves in Germany have ever reached these values. In the 1980s, the number of visitors fluctuated between 175,847 in 1982 and 221,460 in 1988. After reunification , the number of visitors in 1991 fell below the hundred thousand mark for the first time, at 92,132. After a temporary high in 1995 with 146,918 visitors, from 2003 the numbers steadily fell below the limit of 100,000. In 2011, 68,416 people visited the cave, which is the all-time low since it reopened. From the reopening until the end of 2011, a total of 6.59 million had visited them.
Between 2006 and 2010 the average number of visitors was 72,006. With this value, the show cave is in the upper range of the show caves in Germany. The annual visitor numbers are exceeded by five of the 50 or so German show caves . In particular, these are the Atta cave with about 150,000 to 200,000, the Devil's Cave with 156,100 visitors on average in the years 2006 to 2010, which Hermannshöhle with 93,100 , the Karls and bear cave with 90,700 and the Baumannshöhle with 80,600 visitors a year.
literature
- Kur- und Tourismus GmbH Friedrichroda (Ed.): Marienglashöhle Friedrichroda - Underground in the Thuringian Forest . Friedrichroda.
- Stadtbetriebe Friedrichroda (Ed.): Marienglashöhle Friedrichroda - show mine with one of the most beautiful crystal grottos in Europe . Friedrichroda 2019.
- Ulrich Völkel: Caves, grottos, show mines in Thuringia: a hike underground, above ground, but not every day . RhinoVerlag, Ilmenau 2007, ISBN 978-3-939399-03-2 , p. 36-43 .
- Editor Ina Pustal, article by Ronald Bellstedt et al. : Thuringia Underground: An excursion to show caves, visitor mines and GeoMuseen . Ed .: Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology, Jena. Druckhaus Gera, Gera 2005, ISBN 3-9806811-4-9 , p. 81-84 .
- Heinz Walter Wild: Show and visitor mines in Europe . Bode Verlag GmbH, Haltern 1998, ISBN 3-925094-38-5 , p. 146-147 .
- Hans Binder, Anke Lutz, Hans Martin Lutz: Show caves in Germany . Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993, ISBN 3-87005-040-3 , p. 48 .
- Stephan Kempe, Wilfried Rosendahl (ed.): Höhlen - Verborgene Welten . Primus Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-89678-611-1 , p. 153 .
- World full of secrets - caves . In: Stephan Kempe (Ed.): HB Bildatlas special edition 17 . HB Verlags- und Vertriebs-Gesellschaft, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-616-06739-1 , p. 95 .
Web links
- Marienglashöhle at Friedrichroda.de
- Marienglashöhle at Tabarz.de
- Marienglashöhle at Showcaves.de
- Marienglashöhle at Mineralienatlas.de
- Marienglashöhle near Thuringia Tourism
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Editor Ina Pustal, article by Ronald Bellstedt et al. : Thuringia Underground: An excursion to show caves, visitor mines and GeoMuseen . Ed .: Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology, Jena. Druckhaus Gera, Gera 2005, ISBN 3-9806811-4-9 , p. 82 .
- ↑ a b Ulrich Völkel: Caves, grottos, show mines in Thuringia: a hike underground, above ground, but not everyday . RhinoVerlag, Ilmenau 2007, ISBN 978-3-939399-03-2 , p. 39 .
- ^ A b c Kur- und Tourismusamt Friedrichroda. City of Friedrichroda, 2009.
- ↑ a b Stephan Kempe, Wilfried Rosendahl (Ed.): Höhlen - Verborgene Welten . Primus Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-89678-611-1 , p. 153 .
- ↑ Editor Ina Pustal, text Post Ronald Bellstedt et al. : Thuringia Underground: An excursion to show caves, visitor mines and GeoMuseen . Ed .: Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology, Jena. Druckhaus Gera, Gera 2005, ISBN 3-9806811-4-9 , p. 45 .
- ^ A b c d e Hans Binder, Anke Lutz, Hans Martin Lutz: Show caves in Germany . Aegis Verlag, Ulm 1993, ISBN 3-87005-040-3 , p. 48 .
- ↑ a b World of Secrets - Caves . In: Stephan Kempe (Ed.): HB Bildatlas special edition 17 . HB Verlags- und Vertriebs-Gesellschaft, Hamburg 1997, ISBN 3-616-06739-1 , p. 95 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Heinz Walter Wild: Show and visitor mines in Europe . Bode Verlag GmbH, Haltern 1998, ISBN 3-925094-38-5 , p. 146-147 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Ulrich Völkel: Caves, grottos, show mines in Thuringia: a hike underground, above ground, but not every day . RhinoVerlag, Ilmenau 2007, ISBN 978-3-939399-03-2 , p. 36-43 .
- ↑ Hans Walter Wichert (Ed.): List of code names of German underground buildings, submarine bunkers, oil plants, chemical plants and WIFO plants of the Second World War . Schulte printing works, Marsberg 1993, ISBN 3-9803271-4-0 .
- ↑ Editor Ina Pustal, text Post Ronald Bellstedt et al. : Thuringia Underground: An excursion to show caves, visitor mines and GeoMuseen . Ed .: Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology, Jena. Druckhaus Gera, Gera 2005, ISBN 3-9806811-4-9 , p. 49 .
- ↑ Stadtbetriebe Friedrichroda (ed.): Marienglashöhle Friedrichroda - show mine with one of the most beautiful crystal grottos in Europe . Friedrichroda 2019.
- ↑ Show caves. (No longer available online.) Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers e. V., archived from the original on April 18, 2010 ; Retrieved November 14, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Editor Ina Pustal, article by Ronald Bellstedt et al. : Thuringia Underground: An excursion to show caves, visitor mines and GeoMuseen . Ed .: Thuringian State Institute for Environment and Geology, Jena. Druckhaus Gera, Gera 2005, ISBN 3-9806811-4-9 , p. 81-84 .
- ^ Jürgen Fischbach: Development of an operational tourism marketing concept for the Olpe district. (PDF: 6.6 MB) 2009, accessed on September 26, 2010 .
