Hermannshoehle sintergang-ausschnitt 200402

Hermann's Cave (), together with

Baumann's Cave Baumann's Cave (), located nearby Hermann's Cave, is a show cave in Rübeland in the district of Harz and is Germany's oldest show cave. The grotto was formed in the Devonian limestone of the Elbingerode Complex at least since the Bode Vall ...

, is one of two

show caves A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

in the village of

Rübeland Rübeland is a village in the district of Harz in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 2004, it has been given the additional description of ''Höhlenort'' ("cave site"). The sub-districts of Rübeland are Susenburg, Kaltes Tal, Kreuztal and ...

near the town of

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the Harz (district), district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Wernigerode (district), district of Wernigerode. Its population was 32,181 in 2020. Wernigerode is located southwes ...

, in the district of Harz,

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

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 ...

.''Hermann's Cave'' at www.showcaves.com. Retrieved on 23 Oct 09.
/ref> The cave was formed out of the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

of the

Elbingerode (Harz) Elbingerode is an ''Ortsteil'' of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The former town was incorporated into the newly established municipality on 1 January 2010. Its population is 3,101 (2021). Geogra ...

complex during the shaping of the

Bode Valley The Bode () is a river in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, a left tributary of the Saale. It rises in the Harz mountains and drains them in a northerly direction. After it discharges into the Saale at Nienburg. The river is named after a leg ...

. It was discovered in 1866 during road works and was soon opened up to visitors. As a result of being protected early on its rich dripstone stalactites and stalagmites have been largely preserved. The cave is well known for, amongst other things, the discovery of numerous bones of

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, cave wolves and cave hyenas. The cave was comprehensively surveyed by J. H. Klooß, Robert Nehring (1888) and Dr. Ing. Friedrich Stolberg (1932). Progressive exploration since 1970 has uncovered and surveyed previously unknown chambers.

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Hermannshohle (Harz) Caves of the Harz Landforms of Saxony-Anhalt Tourist attractions in Saxony-Anhalt Caves of Germany

See also

References

Bibliography

External links