Bears' Cave (, ) is located in the western
Apuseni Mountains
The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...
, on the outskirts of
Chișcău village,
Bihor County
Bihor County (, ) is a county (județ) in western Romania. With a total area of , Bihor is Romania's 6th largest county geographically and the main county in the historical region of Crișana. Its capital city is Oradea (Nagyvárad).
Toponymy
...
, northwestern
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. It was discovered in 1975 by Speodava, an amateur spelaeologist group.
Bears' Cave received its name after the 140
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 '' ...
skeletons which were discovered on the site in 1983. The cave bear, also known as ''Ursus spelaeus'', is a species of bear which became extinct during the
Last Glacial Maximum
The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago.
Ice sheets covered m ...
, about 27,500 years ago.
The cave has three galleries and four halls: The Candles Hall,
Emil Racoviță
Emil Gheorghe Racoviță (; 15 November 1868 – 19 November 1947) was a Romanian biologist, zoologist, speleologist, and Antarctic explorer.
Together with Grigore Antipa, he was one of the most noted promoters of natural sciences in Ro ...
Hall, The Spaghetti Hall and The Bones Hall.
Travel to Romania - Bears' cave
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History
The name of the cave is due to the numerous fossils of "cave bears" (Ursus spelaeus) found here. The cave used to be a home for these animals 15,000 years ago.
The cave remained closed until 17 September 1975, when the underground void was artificially opened by dynamiting the entrance during the limestone (marble) quarrying works. Traian Curta, a miner from Chișcău, went down the shaft for the first time. He went through the access gallery to the Great Hall.
The first exploration of the cave took place on 20 September 1975 by the group of amateur cavers "Speodava" from the town of Dr. Petru Groza (now the town of Ștei). On the basis of complex studies carried out by the Institute of Speleology "Emil Racoviță" in collaboration with the Criș Country Museum in Oradea, the solutions for the layout and specific protection measures were established. After 5 years of development, the cave was opened to visitors on 14 July 1980. Every year the cave is visited by more than 200,000 tourists.
Gallery
File:Medvebarlang05.jpg, Pillar of dripstone
File:Medvebarlang08.jpg, Interior of the cave
File:Medvebarlang18.jpg, Stalactites and stalagmites
File:Medvebarlang19.jpg, Stalactites
References
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External links
* Description of th
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1975 archaeological discoveries
Caves of Romania
Tourism in Romania
Western Carpathians
Cave bear
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