Nix cave

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Nix cave

Nixhöhle entrance.jpg
Location: Pielachtal ( Lower Austria )
Height : 556  m above sea level A.
Geographic
location: 		47 ° 58 '28 "  N , 15 ° 18' 31"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 58 '28 "  N , 15 ° 18' 31"  E
Nixhöhle (Lower Austria)
Nix cave
Cadastral number: 1836/20
Geology: Stone limestone
Type: Stalactite cave
Lighting: electric
Overall length: 1410 m
Level difference: 70 m (-62 m, +8 m)
Length of the show
cave area: 		350 m
Particularities: Moon milk ( nothing )
Website: Nix cave in Frankenfels

The Nixhöhle is a stalactite cave in the limestone cliffs of the Pielach Valley , a little upstream from Frankenfels in Lower Austria . It was named after its milky sinter ( Nix lat. For snow).

location

The stalactite cave is located on the south-facing steep slope of the valley, the so-called Klammberg, not far from the narrowest point ( gorge ) where the valley is cordoned off by a castle. It is a show cave with a length of 1410 meters, of which 350 meters are accessible during the tours. 520 steps have to be overcome in one direction, thus 1040 steps there and back.

history

The first guided tours took place in 1926, the admission price was 1 Schilling, and a 50% discount for school and youth hiking groups. Around 1962, the cave was made more accessible under the guiding figure of Johann Neubauer (1924-2016) and after extensive structural work (lighting, walkways, attractions, etc.) under the direction of Albin Tauber, the Nix cave was opened on April 19, 2015 as part of a ceremony newly inaugurated.

This happened shortly before the Lower Austria provincial exhibition (April 25th to November 1st) 2015 ÖTSCHER: REICH - The Alps and we, who live in Frankenfels- Laubenbachmühle , Neubruck (communities Scheibbs, St. Anton) (Töpperschloss) and Wienerbruck ( Ötscher Nature Park Center - Basis) was held.

In 2015, the lighting was switched from light bulbs, compact fluorescent tubes and halogen spotlights to efficient lights with light emitting diodes (LEDs). In the naturally dark cave, green plants grow around sources of artificial light that are only switched on temporarily in three places - the largest 1/2 square meter small.

In 2019, 5305 visitors were counted.

About the name nothing

The name of the Nix cave comes from the white limestone deposits. The lime dissolved by water, carbonic acid and humic acids is deposited again in the cave. These limescale deposits are popularly referred to as Nix (Latin = snow , or Nihilum album = white nothing). The name Mondmilch or mountain milk is for this brittle calcite - sintered common.

Nix is a common part of the name of other caves in the Eastern Alps . Two of the same name can be found in the Falkenschlucht south of Türnitz and in the province of Salzburg on the western edge of the Tennengebirge , and in Upper Austria the  Nixloch near Trattenbach an der Enns and the Nixluke near Ebensee am Traunsee .

Cave bear, ice age and legends

In the Pielacher cave bones were one of the Ice Age coming cave bears found which are likely to have an age of about 20,000 years. This cave bear species became extinct towards the end of the Ice Age. Since the cave bear was a pure herbivore, climatic fluctuations around 16,000 years ago were its undoing. The food supply for this giant bear was no longer sufficient for its survival. In April 2009 the partial skeleton of a cave bear was brought into the cave.

The cave can only be reached via a serpentine path of 20 minutes walking time. The cave can only be visited on guided tours.

Many local legends talk about the cave. It is said that one could hear the hammering of the hammer mills from the neighboring valley inside the cave . Furthermore, a rich farmer is said to have mined gold there (geologically unlikely, of course) and died in the process. Because he regretted his greed in the afterlife, he was allowed to stamp himself as a relief-like face in the rocks in the upper cave area. He was a good spirit and, according to the guides, was responsible for ensuring that no one was harmed despite the steep paths inside.

Other naturally created sculptures are the Jesus head , various rune-like rock drawings, fantastic layers of rock and the fish head , behind which a modern looking Madonna peeks out. An early Christian catacomb (see Ichthys ) couldn't be more stylish.

  • Little waterfall

  • Easter Bunny

  • Small glacier

  • Sitting skeleton , fish head , Madonna

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. 69-71.
  • Helga and Wilhelm Hartmann: The caves of Lower Austria , Volume 2. - Scientific supplement to the magazine Die Höhle . 29: 73-75.
  • Michael Müllner: The Nix cave and the Gredl cave near Frankenfels on the Mariazellerbahn . Natural and speleological guide through Austria, Volume IX, Vienna 1926.
  • Albin Tauber: 80 Years of the Show Cave - The History of the Nix Cave near Frankenfels (Lower Austria) in Die Höhle , 58: 83–86.

See also

Web links

Commons : Nixhöhle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ ÖTSCHER: REICH - The Alps and Us Lower Austrian State Exhibition 2015 ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on March 29, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.noe-landesausstellung.at
  2. ↑ tel. Information Mr. Albin Tauber, March 29, 2018.