Wildenmannlisloch (also ''Wildmannlisloch'', translating to "

wild man The wild man, wild man of the woods, or woodwose/wodewose is a mythical figure that appears in the art and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to '' Silvanus'', the Roman god of the woodl ...

's hole") is an alpine

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

Karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

cave in the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann,

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...

region,

canton of St. Gallen The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall (german: link=no, Kanton St. Gallen ; rm, Chantun Son Gagl; french: Canton de Saint-Gall; it, Canton San Gallo), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen. Located in northeastern ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, on the northern slope of the

Churfirsten Churfürsten is a mountain range in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. They form the natural boundary between the canton's Toggenburg and Sarganserland districts. They are the southernmost range of the Appenzell Alps, separated from the Gl ...

range (ca. 2 km due north of peak

Selun The Selun is one of the peaks of the Churfirsten range, located in the Appenzell Alps. It lies between the valley of Toggenburg and Lake Walenstadt in the canton of St. Gallen. The summit is easily accessible by a trail on the northern side. T ...

) at an elevation of 1640 m. The cave extends for 142 m, at about 60 m from the entrance forming a chamber. The cave's name is recorded in 1819 a booklet on "

Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...

's birthplace" (''Zwinglis Geburtsort'', i.e.

Wildhaus Wildhaus (High Alemannic: ''Wildhuus'') is a village and former municipality in the Toggenburg region of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, since 2010 by merger with Alt St. Johann part of the municipality of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann. The ...

) by J. Fr. Franz: "at the foot of Selun ridge there is a great cave, known as the wild man's hole, which at first is very broad and high, so that it could by entered by horse and wagon, then becomes narrower, and again wider, and in such alternation continues along various bends for a quarter of an hour before its end is reached."''An dem Fusse des Selunerrückens befindet sich eine grosse Höhle, das Wildenmannlisloch genannt, die anfangs sehr weit und hoch ist, so dass man mit Pferden und Wagen hineinfahren könnte, dann wieder verenget und wieder erweitert und in solchen Abwechslungen und verschiedenen Krümmungen sich eine Viertelstunde lang hinziehet, bis man ihr Ende erreicht.'' An examination of 15 July 1906 yielded bones of cave bears. A more detailed survey was conducted during 1923 to 1928 (published in Bächler 1934), producing a large number of bones, mostly of bears, besides a smaller number of

stone tools A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone Ag ...

comparable to the

Wildkirchli Wildkirchli () are three interlinked caves situated in the Alpstein massif in the Appenzell Innerrhoden canton of Switzerland, north-east of Mount Säntis Switzerland. The caves are located at a height of . They are notable for the traces of Pal ...

finds. The bones seem to have been artificially deposited in heaps. The cave was presumably in use (either inhabited or used as a storage site for meat, or as a sacrificial site) by prehistoric man during the

Mousterian The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an archaeological industry of stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and to the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and West Asia. The Mousterian largely defines the latt ...

(about 40,000 to 35,000 years ago). Johannes Seluner, a

feral child A feral child (also called wild child) is a young individual who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, with little or no experience of human care, social behavior, or language. The term is used to refer to children who h ...

found in 1844, presumably lived in the cave during a number of years.

References

* *Emil Bächler, ''Das Wildenmannlisloch Am Selun'' (1934)
Aus der Geschichte von Alt St. Johann
(wildhaus-altstjohann.ch) {{Coord, 47, 10, 4, N, 9, 15, 19, E, display=title 1906 archaeological discoveries Caves of Switzerland Limestone caves Appenzell Alps Toggenburg Mousterian