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DOBŠINSKÁ
ICE CAVE
NATIONAL NATURE MONUMENT
Cadastral area: Dobšiná
District: Rožňava
Region: Košice
Is situated in the Slovak Paradise in the
Spiš-Gemer Karst in the National Nature Reserve Stratená within the
territory of the Slovak Paradise National Park. Entrance to the cave is
on the northern slope of Duča hill, 971 meters above the sea level.
The cave was formed in the Middle Triassic
Steinalm and Wetter stein limestones of the Silický nappe along the
tectonic faults and interbed surfaces, by the former underground stream
of Hnilec river at three developmental levels. It belongs to the genetic
system of the Stratenská Cave. The cave length is 1232 meters and
vertical range is 112 meters.
Ice filling occurs in
the form of ground ice, ice “waterfalls,” ice stalagmites and
columns. The ice-covered area is 9772 square meters, and the total
volume of ice is 110132 cubic meters. The maximum thickness of ice
is in the Great Hall 26.5 meters. It ranks among the most important
ice caves in the world thanks to its character of glaciations. The
cave is one of the most important winter refuges of bats-Myotis
mystacinus and Myotis brandti in Slovakia.
The cave was discovered
in 1870 by E. Ruffmi assisted by G. Lang, A. Mega, and F. Fehér. It was
open to the public as early as in 1871. Since 1887 it has been the first
cave with electric illumination in that-time Hungary. Along with
Postojna Cave it ranks among the first electrically illuminated caves in
Europe. Currently, 475 meters of the cave are open to the public. I have
visited the cave in 1994 and 1996.
GO
TO SLOVAKIA'S CAVES
Published in the Slovak Heritage Live
newsletter Volume
14, No.2, Summer 2006
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 2004
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied,
reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including
electronic, without the express written permission of
Vladimir
Linder. All rights
reserved.
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