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Sawed off! A part of the giant pillar was removed for the restoration of the castle in Stuttgart
Bizarre and sometimes scary 141 steps lead to the underworld of the Nebelhöhle. At the bottom the visitors first go through the new part of the cave, then the old part. The total length known today adds up to 813 meters, whereas only 450 meters are accessible for visitors. The deepest point of the cave is located approximately 780 meters above sea level. Impressively huge corridors lead through a bizarre, sometimes scary and especially fantasy stimulating world of stalagmites, stalactites and pillars (see figure). In many of those dripstones, grown over millions of years, with a little imagination strange figures or other objects can be seen. The magnificent stalagmites can primarily be found in the second hall that is accessed through a forest of dripstones and where a head-high dripstone stands right in the way. In the last hall a sawed-off dripstone can be seen whose missing part was used for the restoration of the new castle in Stuttgart in the 1960’s. This dripstone with its 4.5 meters height was originally the largest in the Nebelhöhle, connecting the floor of the cave with the ceiling like a giant column.
STALACTITE STALAGMITE PILLAR
Stalagmites grow from the bottom to the top, Stalactites grow from the top to the bottom and Pillars are columns connecting the floor and the ceiling
The formation of the cave Today’s Swabian Alb was covered by the Jura Sea about 140 – 200 million years ago. Calcareous deposits, sediments and especially siliceous sponge and coral reefs formed heavy deposits which fossilized over millions of years. The movements of plate tectonics lifted southern Germany out of the sea and caused cracks and open joints in the stone through which water seeped into the ground, widening the cracks and giving the Nebelhöhle her current shape.
NEBELHÖHLE OPEN HOURS April through October: Daily 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. November and March: Saturday, Sunday and Hollidays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fall Break: Daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The growth of the dripstones began with the drying of the floor of the cave: Calcareous seepage water comes into contact with air in a cavity. The chemical reversal of the lime removal process begins, lime is excreted, since the air in the cave contains less carbon dioxide than seepage water.
December through February the cave is closed due to winter break and bat protection. ENTRANCE FEES Adults: 4 EUR (Group: 3 EUR) Adults reduced: 3 EUR (Students, Seniors etc.) Children (6 to 14 years): 2.50 EUR
Several factors determine the growth of the dripstones: The drip-rate is as important as the amount of dissolved lime in the seepage water or the possibility to deposit lime through concentration balance. As a rough reference value a growth of 1 – 3 cm in 60 to 80 years is assumed for the Nebelhöhle.
(Group: 2 EUR) Family Ticket: 10 EUR
www.sonnenbuehl.de www.gemeinde-lichtenstein.de