Europe Explored » Caves

Demänovská Ice Cave in Slovakia – one of the first known caves in the world

Claire — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:59:39 +0000

Demänovská Ice Cave is located in the entrance to the Demänovská valley in northern part of Slovakia, near the town of Liptovský Mikuláš. It includes the longest known underground system of Demänovské Caves. It was created in the dark-gray (guttenstein) Middle Triassic limestone, mainly by an underground river of Demänovka and is extended in four floors. The cave is also a part of the Low Tatras National Park.

The cave has three surface holes. The inlet lies at an altitude of 740 m, 90 m above the flow Demänovka. The upper floors are ice-free, with weathered limestone ornamentation. You can see the ice only in the front part of the very bottom floor.

Demänovská Ice Cave is one of the first known caves in the world. It was mentioned already in a document Ostrihom Chapter of 5th December 1299. It was first explored and described by Juraj Buchholtz jr. in 1719. Since then, it was well-known and sought out by scholars in the whole world. In 80′s of the last century, the cave was open also to public.

The basic admission is €7. Cave is open from May to September every day except of Mondays, however the opening hours are changing. For further details please check the official website of Demänovská Ice Cave.

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Jasovská cave – national natural monument of Slovakia

Claire — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:34:34 +0000

Jasovská cave (or Jasovská jaskyňa in Slovak) is located in the Slovak Karst, near the village Jasov, in the south-eastern part of the Slovak Republic. The cave has been known since time immemorial. There were found artifacts from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Hallstatt periods. The stalactite cave was first open to the public partially in 1846 by monks from the nearby Jasov monastery. Between 1922 – 1924 the lower parts of the cave were discovered and already in 1924 Jasovská cave was officially opened.

There were built routes and electric lighting. The total length of cave is 2811 meters, of which about 550 meters are available to the public. Jasovská cave has a rich sinter decoration. You can admire Virgin stalactites and waterfalls. At the top floor there is also interesting sign written in black letters in 1452 and which talks about the victory of the Hussites in Lučenec.

The cave is a home to 19 species of bats, which live in the cave especially during winter. Since 1995 Jasovská cave is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst site.

The air temperature ranges between 8.8°C to 9.4°C, relative humidity from 90% to 98%. The cave is open daily – except of Mondays – from April 1 to October 30. Basic admission fee is €5.

See pictures of Jasovská Cave on flickr.com

For further information you can visit official website of Slovak caves www.ssj.sk.

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Ochtinská Aragonite Cave – the only Aragonite cave of that kind in the world | Slovakia

Claire — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:14:25 +0000

Ochtinská Aragonite Cave is located in the southern part of Slovakia, in the Košice region, near town of Rožňava. Ochtinská Aragonite Cave is a unique natural phenomenon and the only Aragonite cave of that kind in the world. It is one of three aragonite caves discovered in the world so far.

The main attraction of the cave is called Milky Way Hall, where you can see the white branches and clusters of aragonite shining like stars in the Milky Way. There are fantastic shapes of flowers and Aragonite crystalline formations.

Ochtinská Aragonite Cave was discovered accidentally in 1954 by Jan Bystricky and open later to the public in 1972. However its length is only 300 meters, and only 230 meters are accessible, it is famous for its rare aragonite filling. In 1995 Ochtinská Aragonite Cave has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with other caves in Slovak Karst.

The cave is open daily except of Mondays from April to October. Basic admission is €6.

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Slovak Karst National Park – largest karstic area in Central Europe

Claire — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:27:42 +0000

The Slovak Karst National Park (Slovenský kras) lying in the south of Slovakia next to the frontier with Hungary. With 440km2 it is the largest karstic area in Central Europe with the densest concentration of underground forms. There is 1100 caves and abysses, which are inscribed in the UNESCO List of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Domica Cave, Slovakia by Jojo

Slovak Karst National Park is so far the second youngest National Park in Slovakia, established on 1 March 2002. This valuable territory with perfectly developed karst was a protected landscape area since 1973. Its significance is enhanced by the fact that it is included in the MaB (Man and Biosphere) network of biosphere reserves.

The caves and abysses in the Slovak karst and the area of the Aggteleki Karszt in neighbouring Hungary are inscribed in the UNESCO List of the Natural and Cultural Heritage. Stricter regime of conservation is applied to 10 Reserves, 16 National Natural Phenomena and 6 Natural Phenomena in the territory of the mountains Slovenský kras.

The most interesting places are the Zádielska tiesňava gorge and Domica cave – the biggest cave in Slovakia.

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Round trip through Slovak caves

Claire — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:21:27 +0000

There are as much as 44 caves and abysses in Slovakia designated the national nature monuments, which represent a part of the most significant natural heritage of the country. Only 12 of them are open to the public.

If you plan the trip to Slovakia, you should visit at least two of them – Domica – the biggest cave in Slovakia located in Slovak Karst and Dobšinská ice cave in Slovak paradise. If you plan to visit Hight Tatras, it is must to see Belianska cave in Tatranská kotlina.

The admission prices are from €4 – €7 (2010) for adults and half for the children between 6 and 15 years, or hadicapped people. The majority of caves are opened from April 1 to October 31 between 9:30 – 16:00. For further details check https://www.ssj.sk/

The list of Slovak caves that are opened to the public

Belianska Cave
Bystrianska Cave
Demänovská Cave of Liberty
Demänovská Ice Cave
Dobšinská Ice Cave
Domica
Driny
Gombasecká Cave
Harmanecká Cave
Jasovská Cave
Ochtinská Aragonite Cave
Važecká Cave

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Domica cave – the biggest cave in Slovakia

Claire — Sat, 01 May 2010 04:52:57 +0000

Domica is the biggest and most beautiful cave in the Slovak Karst in southern Slovakia. Domica is situated near Plešivec village in Rožňava district, 2 km from the state boundary with Hungary. It is a part of the cave complex that continues into the cave Baradla (Aggtelek) in Hungary. It was discovered in 1926 by Ján Majko and it is opened to the public since 1932. There is also boat trip included during the visit.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Jojo

Domica cave is a part of Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1995.

The full admission price long tour (tour with boat ride) is €7 (2010). Air temperature ranges from 10.2 to 11.4°C and relative humidity from 95 to 98 %.

Domica is one of the 12 caves opened to the public.

The list of all caves in Slovakia:

Belianska Cave
Bystrianska Cave
Demänovská Cave of Liberty
Demänovská Ice Cave
Dobšinská Ice Cave
Domica
Driny Cave
Gombasecká Cave
Harmanecká Cave
Jasovská Cave
Ochtinská Aragonite Cave
Važecká Cave

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Dobšinská Ice Cave – the largest ice cave in Slovakia

Claire — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:37:09 +0000

Dobšinská Ice Cave is the largest ice cave in the Slovak Republic and one of the most important and beautiful ice caves in the world. It is located in Stratenská Highlands, on the northern slope of a limestone hill Duča, near the mining town of Dobšiná. The cave is a part of the Slovak Paradise National Park (Slovenský raj).

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

The entrance to the cave is situated at an altitude of 970 meters above sea level and used to be known as a “cold hole”. The first visitor was a mining engineer and amateur speleologist Eugen Ruffínyi with his friends Gustáv Lang and Andrej Mega. They explored the cave in June 1870. A year later it was opened to the public and in 1887 became the first cave in Europe with electric lighting. The total length of the cave is 1388 m, from which only 475 m long section is available for the public. In the years 1893 – 1946 the public skating was allowed here during the whole year.

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

Underground spaces were created and formed by chemical and mechanical action of water of the river Hnilec. Dobšinská ice caves were originally connected with Stratenská caves. But after the collapse of the cave ceiling, the cave system has been divided and closed the air circulation. The cave got a shape of a pocket-like large cavity. It is 18 meters wide and 70 meters deep with a single hole on the surface. This resulted in the establishment of local microclimatic conditions and ice caves. In winter a cold air penetrates into the cave, which cools its walls and leaking water and freezes, creating ice formations (stalactites, stalagmites, icefalls, pillar and floor ice). The thickness of ice reaches up to 25 meters at the floor, its volume is approximately 145,000 cubic meters. The average annual temperature of the cave is -1 °C while the humidity reaches 96-99%.

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

Glaciation is only in the part of the cave entrance, where it gets cold from outside. Rear and bottom areas are ice-free, but with many weathered stalactite formations. The cave consists of several separate parts – Small Hall, Large Hall, collapsing dome, Ruffínyi’s corridor, and other. The largest area is the Great Hall – 72 metres long, 42 metres wide and 10 metres high. The largest ice column is named the Well (Studňa).

The tour through Dobšinská Ice Cave lasts 30 minutes. It is open from May to October. Eating or drinking is prohibited here, you can use a camera for additional fee. Entry is permitted only with a guide.

Dobšinská Ice Cave is a home of several species of bats, and in 2000, the cave has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Photo published with a kind permission of its author va.lentijn

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