The Devil's Cave () is a
dripstone cave located in the town of
Pottenstein,
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The cave is , the largest in
Franconian Switzerland.
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
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
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 Finland, 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 sim ...
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.
See also
*
List of show caves in Germany
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