Hermannshoehle sintergang-ausschnitt 200402

Hermann's Cave (german: Hermannshöhle), together with

Baumann's Cave Baumann's Cave (german: Baumannshöhle), 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 ...

, 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 district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

, in the district of Harz,

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

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. Geography It is situated in the eastern ...

complex during the shaping of the

Bode Valley The Bode Gorge (german: Bodetal) is a long ravine that forms part of the Bode valley between Treseburg and Thale in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The German term, ''Bodetal'' (literally "Bode Valley"), is also used in a wider sense to r ...

. 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 hyena (''Crocuta crocuta spelaea''), also known as the Ice Age spotted hyena, was a paleosubspecies of spotted hyena which ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Siberia. It is one of the best known mammals of the Ice Age and is w ...

. 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