Petershöhle near Hartenstein
| Petershöhle near Hartenstein
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 Petershöhle entrance |
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| Location: | Hartenstein (Middle Franconia) , Franconian Switzerland , Germany | |
| Height : | 491 m above sea level NN | |
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Geographic location: |
49 ° 36 '16.1 " N , 11 ° 31' 50.7" E | |
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| Cadastral number: | A 22 | |
| Geology: | dolomite | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1914 | |
| Show cave since: | No | |
| Lighting: | No | |
| Overall length: | 70 meters | |
The Petershöhle is located on the northeast slope of the Kreitsberg about one kilometer north of Hartenstein (Middle Franconia) . Peter Cave was listed in Geotopkataster Bavaria under the number 574H004. The Petershöhle is registered as A 22 in the Franconian Alb cave cadastre (HFA).
description
The cave has a total corridor length of around 70 meters and forms a large and branched floor system of interconnected halls. The size of the entrance is about 8 × 5 meters, the forecourt of the cave, which is surrounded by high rock walls, was leveled by blasting. Adjacent to the entrance is the approximately 15 meter long main cave, this hall was filled with a three meter thick layer of sediment before it was discovered. In a southerly direction, a corridor eight meters long and sloping upwards, with a small hall, the south chamber, leads to the so-called new rooms, which are a little higher up. This hall measures about 10 meters in width and 15 meters in length, and it reaches a height of up to 8 meters. It was discovered and made accessible through the excavations carried out by Konrad Hörmann. In this hall, a corridor branches off to the northwest to the ascending chamber, which after ten meters leads through a narrow gorge to the upper floor of the east hall.
There are still a few sinter groups , moon milk and ceiling clouds. There are no more stalactites worth mentioning in the cave. The cave is of great importance for scientific research.
history
In terms of cultural history, the Petershöhle is probably the most interesting cave in the Franconian Alb . It used to be called the “cave in the cattle drift”, the current name of the cave from its discoverer Kuno Peters. He and his son entered the cave in July 1914 and found an almost completely preserved skeleton of a cave bear on their first visit . Before the excavation , the cave was just an inconspicuous semicircular hole with a rock roof. From October 1 to 10, 1914, in 1916 and again from 1919 to 1928, the cave was explored by the Nuremberg Natural History Society under the direction of Konrad Hörmann. During the excavations, further cave rooms with rich bones were found. It was found that people lived in the cave about 90,000 years ago. The remains of at least 2000 cave bears were found, but also the traces of cave lions , woolly rhinos , wolves , hyenas , primeval cattle and other animals. It was also possible to document the presence of the Neanderthal through the discovery of primitive stone tools. At the time of the Neanderthals, the cave was apparently used as a place of worship. New research in 1935 discovered another, higher level of the cave. The finds are exhibited in the Museum of the Natural History Society in Nuremberg, but most of them were destroyed in a bomb attack in 1945.
Today the cave is a popular place of leisure and a destination for hikes through the Hartensteiner Oberberge.
Access
The Petershöhle is freely accessible all year round, but should not be entered between September 30th and April 1st for bat protection reasons .
Who the cave completely navigate want and should have a little cave experience and appropriate equipment. It can be reached from Hartenstein via a hiking trail marked with a blue dot on a white background .
literature
- John P. Zeitler: Hartenstein: The Petershöhle - A place of discovery of the Neanderthals . In: Alfried Wieczorek (Hrsg.): Excursions to archeology, history and culture in Germany, Volume 52: Nuremberg and Nürnberger Land - excursion destinations between Pegnitz and Franconian Alb . Konrad Theiss Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8062-2368-2 , pp. 159-161.
- Brigitte Hilpert, Brigitte Kaulich: Ice Age bears from the Franconian Jura - New results on the cave bears from the Osterloch in Hegendorf, the Petershöhle near Velden and the Gentnerhöhle near Weidlwang . In: Communications of the Association of German Cave and Karst Researchers eV (Ed.). 52 (4), Munich 2006, pp. 106-113.
- Stephan Lang: Caves in Franconia. A hiking guide into the underworld of Franconian Switzerland . Hans Carl Verlag, Nuremberg 2002, ISBN 3-418-00390-7 , pp. 74-75.
- Hardy Schabdach: Underground Worlds. Caves of the Franconian and Hersbrucker Switzerland . Verlag Reinhold Lippert, Ebermannstadt 2000, ISBN 3-930125-05-6 , pp. 58-60.
- Bettina Stoll-Tucker: Post-Ice Age cave use using the example of the upper Pegnitz valley (Northern Franconian Alb) . From the series: Works on the Archeology of Southern Germany, Volume 4. Verlag Dr. Faustus, Büchenbach 1997, ISBN 3-9803996-6-4 , pp. 43, 197-198.
- Friedrich Herrmann: Caves of the Franconian and Hersbrucker Switzerland . 2nd, improved edition. Hans Carl Verlag, Nuremberg 1991, ISBN 3-418-00356-7 , pp. 135-137.
Web links
- Pictures of the Petershöhle on Caveclimbers.de
- Description Peter Cave on the side Caveseekes.com
- Brief description of the Petershöhle at the natural monuments on the Hersbruckerschweiz.de page