EN: Venus Cave (Venus Grotto) Hörselberge
About 10% of the territory of Germany is covered by sediments of the Muschelkalk sea. About 215 million years ago an epicontinental sea with 10 to 70 meters depth has covered this area. The sea existed for about 10 million years, and it was partly dry.
The long range of hills with the Little Hörselberg (426m), the Mittelnerg and the Great Hörselberg (484m) are located between the Nessetal in the north anf Hörseltal in the south. In the south steep mountain walls can extends up to 75 m high. The fault was created by earth crust dislocations about 100 million years ago.
As a consequence of movements and dislocations of these sedimentary rocks, cracks and gaps opened up, which divide the caves gradually by infiltration of surface water, a process that lasted for thousands of years and is ongoing. Due to the erosion of the mountain, the cave that can be seen today was made visible.
One of the caves is the Venus cave. According to entrenched views of the population, in early times the cave has already been used as place for ceremonial gatherings.
The section of the Gotha Thuringia Forest Association decided in 1884 to advertise the cave as an attractive destination for hikers by using the Wagner's opera Tannhäuser legend of Venus and campaigned the cave Venus, also called the Venus Grotto. By that time the entrance of the cave was only a few steps wide, assuming hiking club are not seriously interested to explore the interior of this cave.
Note: The Venus cave is a wintering ground for native bats. Consequently, the entrance into the cave is protected by iron bars during winter months.
Sources: Wikipedia, Hörselberggemeinde e.V.
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- How deep is the Venus approximately?
- In what geological layers can the deposited limestone be broken down?
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Enjoy your hiking and the caves!
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