Visit to Devil's Cave.

I recently had the pleasure to travel to Germany for vacation (one of the reasons for the long gap between my recent articles). I highly recommend a trip to this great country where you can immerse yourself in the rich German culture and history, climb the mountains and scramble through dozens of bergs and ruins. My visit was to Bavaria and the region around the Grafenwöhr Training Area of the US Military. This region contains some of Germany's tallest mountains near the Austrian border and a variety of topographic and geologic features throughout the region.

One of the beautiful parts of Bavaria (from my limited experience) is the Frankische Schweiz (German Switzerland), a land of small villages built along twisting river valleys between steep mountains. The Frankishe Schweiz region lies approximately 60 kilometers northwest of Nürnberg. In the Frankische Schweiz you can explore the craft shops in the villages, hike the miles and miles of trails through the mountains, or visit the Bergs and ruins. The underlying geology here is similar to the geology that underlies parts of the United States in Kentucky and Tennessee. The rock here consists of two main formations, a thick (upwards of 200 meters) laminated limestone and a massive dolomite. Both formations were laid down during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Periods 155 to 135 Ma. (Note: The Jurassic is named for classic examples of rock found in the Jura Mountains in Germany.) The action of water over the millennia has created many amazing rock formations and wonderful caves. One of these caves, easily accessible to travelers, can be found near the town of Pottenstein. The cave, called Teufelshöhle (Devil's Cave), and lies along highway 470.

Teufelshöhle is a wonderful and accessible example of a cave system. The cave was first explored by the local people hundreds of years ago. In the early 1920's Professor Dr. Hans Brand explored the cave system. Dr. Brand was a mining engineer and had workers help him dig through a cave-in that had blocked off most of the cave system. Beyond the cave-in the workers uncovered most of the cave system that extends up to one mile in length. The tour through the cave highlights part of this extensive system. Other areas of the cave have been used as a natural health spa for people with Asthma and other breathing disorders.

The cave entrance is reached at the far end of natural grotto. The first chamber gives you a small taste of the natural treasure to come. The room is large, over 30 feet in height, and one corner holds some of the mining equipment used to open the cave-in. From the entrance chamber you travel along the path cut by Dr. Brand's workers into the main cave system. As you travel keep your eyes open and constantly look about as you will encounter most of the caves natural features, like the Papstkrone (Pope's Crown), in small nooks along your path. Most of the smaller features you see in the cave are between 30,000 and 40,000 years old.

Go To Page: 1 2 3

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic