Salzgrabenhöhle
| Salzgrabenhöhle
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| Location: | Steinernes Meer , Berchtesgaden Alps | |
| Height : | 960 m above sea level NN | |
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Geographic location: |
47 ° 31 '25 " N , 12 ° 57' 23.3" E | |
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| Cadastral number: | 1331/29 | |
| Discovery: | 1959 | |
| Overall length: | over 9 km | |
| Level difference: | at least 414 m | |
The Salzgrabenhöhle is a natural karst cave in the Sankt Bartholomä forest , a district of the Upper Bavarian municipality of Schönau am Königssee in the Berchtesgadener Land district in Bavaria .
It is also called the salt furnace and is located in the Steinerne Meer , a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps and is one of the largest known cave systems in Germany . The approximately 8 m high and 20 m wide cave entrance is located at 960 m above sea level. NN at approx. 12 ° 57 'east longitude and 47 ° 31' north latitude in the slopes of the Simetsberg, facing the Königssee , which is made up of Dachstein limestone here . The cave was discovered in 1959 by the speleologist Erhard Sommer from Berchtesgaden , who has made great contributions to its development, and Kajo Wohlgeschaffen.
The Salzgrabenhöhle is registered as geotope number 172H005.
access
The Salzgrabenhöhle is not open to the public, its entrance is barred. It is forbidden to enter it from October 1st to April 30th due to the hibernation of bats. In the remaining months you can enter the cave with the permission of the Berchtesgaden National Park Administration , which keeps the key.
particularities
The over 9 km long corridor system of the Salzgrabenhöhle is widely branched and has enormous differences in altitude. The lowest point is still relatively close to the entrance in the "Grand Salon" about 90 m below, the highest point reached so far 324 m above the entrance level. The total height difference is at least 414 m. There are two main course systems on different levels. The largest room is the "Midnight Hall" with an area of approx. 100 m × 40 m × 80 m. In addition to extensive halls, there are also waterfalls, siphons , lakes, chimneys and bottlenecks. There are also fossils (e.g. ammonites , corals , and megalodonts ) on the walls .
In the middle part of the cave there is a bivouac place. In some places, insurances are attached (wire ropes, climbing aids).
The average temperature is given as around 4 ° C. In winter, large parts of the entrance area of the cave ice up.
hazards
The water flow in the Salzgrabenhöhle can fluctuate strongly depending on the season ( snowmelt ) and rise sharply in a short time after rainfall. In July 1997, 16 people were cut off from the water. However, they were able to leave the cave unscathed after the water level fell. The cave should only be entered with appropriate equipment and accompanied by experienced speleologists.
References and comments
- ↑ Geotope: Salzgrabenhöhle (PDF; 193 kB)