The Devil's Cave () is a

dripstone cave Dripstone may refer to: *Hood mould or dripstone, an architectural feature for handling rain water * Dripstone, a type of speleothem (cave formation) that includes for example stalactites * Dripstone, a type of water filter made of porous stone * D ...

located in the town of Pottenstein,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The cave is long and is the longest in Germany and the largest in

Franconian Switzerland Franconian Switzerland (german: Fränkische Schweiz) is an upland in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany and a popular tourist retreat. Located between the River Pegnitz in the east and the south, the River Regnitz in the west and the River Main i ...

History

The cave as it is today was discovered in 1922 but has been known to locals for many years. The cave is named for the disappearance of livestock in the vicinity of the cave being attributed to the Devil. Centuries later, after the cave had been fully explored, the missing livestock as well as numerous other animals including

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

and

cave bear The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ' ...

s were discovered to have fallen into the cave and died. One of these cave bear skeletons has been reconstructed and can be seen on the tour of the cave.

Visiting

The cave offers guided tours year round in both German and English although the opening hours vary by season. The cave tour takes about an hour to complete and the guides stop occasionally to explain the history of the particular chamber and to describe the rock formations. Some of these formations have been named by the guides such as the Turtle, Pipe Organ, and the Crucifixion. Any tour can become English language tours if visitors simply ask the tour guide on any tour to switch on loudspeakers with English explanations (no fee).

Nordic walking Nordic walking is a Finnish-origin total-body version of walking that can be done both by non-athletes as a health-promoting physical activity and by athletes as a sport. The activity is performed with specially designed walking poles similar to s ...

trails pass by both the entrance and exit of the cave and network into the surrounding area. These trails provide views of the Weiherbach Valley in which the cave lies as well as the numerous rock faults and stone formations that litter the area. Rainbow and brown trout can be seen and fed in the river at the entrance of the cave.

Cave Therapy

There is an operational therapeutic station located inside the cave intended to assist in the treatment of lung ailments with speleotherapy.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Teufelshöhle Pottenstein, Devil's Cave Pottenstein
Official Site (German)

Caves of Germany Limestone caves Karst formations of Germany Landforms of Bavaria Franconian Switzerland Show caves in Germany Tourist attractions in Bavaria

History

Visiting

Cave Therapy

See also

References

External links