Gypsum cave Höllern and gypsum hill seven humps

	Gypsum cave Höllern and gypsum hill seven humps IUCN Category IV - Habitat / Species Management Area
	Access to the nature reserve
location	Nordheim market
surface	10.16
Identifier	NSG-00278.01
WDPA ID	163252
Geographical location	49 ° 35 ' N , 10 ° 22' E Coordinates: 49 ° 34 '38 " N , 10 ° 21' 33" E
Setup date	1986

The gypsum cave Höllern and gypsum hill Sieben Buckel is a nature reserve near Markt Nordheim , in the Middle Franconian district of Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim in Bavaria .

location

The nature reserve is located in the wide open valley of Ehegrund about 1.5 km south of Markt Nordheim.

description

The area has been a designated, 10 hectare nature reserve since 1986 and bears the cadastral number NSG-00278.01 from the Bavarian State Office for the Environment . Part of the area is also designated as a ground monument (D-5-6428-0241, settlement from the imperial era).

Due to its special flora and fauna, it is a significant nature reserve throughout Europe. It comprises two different objects of protection, the formation of which can be traced back to the karstification of mighty plaster of paris in the clayey myophoric layers of the plaster keuper .

Höllern gypsum cave

The Höllern gypsum cave consists of two extensive cave systems. The cave is designated as a geotope (575H001). It is the only known and probably largest accessible leaching cave of the Gipskeuper in southern Germany. The corridors of the cave system are based on the fracture system in the base plaster and show typical forms of the plaster solution. It lies just below the surface and traces the fracture pattern in the base plaster. The length of the cave is given as 1040 meters and it is looked after by the Natural History Society of Nuremberg . The cave system is winter quarters for bats. Unfortunately, the cave is not open to the public.

Seven humps

To the south of the cave are the seven humps and small areas line the edges of a railing channel that has broken into the ground. They are also designated as geotopes (575R005). The gypsum hills of the seven humps represent a sinkhole landscape in the basic gypsum with numerous small caves.

Flora and fauna

Relics of post-glacial steppe heather flora with the characteristic feather grass grow here. In April and May the golden yellow flowers of the spring Adonis are found here . The flowering phases of lime asters with their bluish purple tongue and yellow tubular flowers extend well into September. The intermediate and marginal areas are extensively mowed or grazed and grassland can develop.

Access

Most of the protection area is freely accessible, but may not be entered off the beaten path. Part of the site is fenced in and used as pasture. A path with information boards leads around the site.

There are no parking spaces in the immediate vicinity.