Dobšinská Ice Cave
Encyclopedia
Dobšinská Ice Cave or Dobšinská ľadová jaskyňa (in Slovak
) is an ice cave
in Slovakia
, near the mining town of Dobšiná
in the Slovak Paradise
. Since 2000 it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst
site. It lies 130 m above the Hnilec
River, and the entrance is at an altitude of 970 m.
The cave was discovered on 15 June 1870 by a royal mining engineer Eugen Ruffinyi
, accompanied by G. Lang and Andrej Mega, though the entrance was known from time immemorial by shepherds and hunters as Studená diera (Cold Hole). The cave was opened to the public one year after its discovery. In 1887, it was the first electrically lit cave in Europe
.
At about this time 7,171 square metres of the cave's known area of 8,874 square metres were reported covered with ice. The total ice volume was estimated at 125,000 cubic metres, which makes it one of the most important ice caves in the world. The thickness of the ice reaches up to 26.5 m.
The cave floor descends from the entrance which faces North; this results in rapid cooling of the cave in winter as cold air can fall down. On the other hand, the interior is quite protected from the warm environment in summer. Thus the annual temperature average stays around 0°C. The cave iced up, as this cycle repeated for many centuries. The age of the cave is estimated at approximately 250,000 years.
The total length of the cave is 1,483 m (some sources claim 1,232 m), of which 515 m are open to the public from May to September.
Famous visitors to the ice cave have been Prince August von Sachsen Gotha and his wife (1872), Ferdinand de Lesseps
(constructor of the Suez Channel) and a party of French writers (1884), the Bulgarian czar Ferdinand I
(1890) and the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen
(1900).
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) is an ice cave
Ice cave
The term ice cave refers to any type of natural cave that contains significant amounts of perennial ice...
in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, near the mining town of Dobšiná
Dobšiná
Dobšiná is a town in the Slovenské rudohorie mountains in Slovakia, on the Slaná River, north-west of Košice.-Geography:...
in the Slovak Paradise
Slovak Paradise
Slovak Paradise is a mountain range in central Slovakia. It is a part of the Spiš-Gemer Karst, which in turn is a part of the Slovenské rudohorie Mountains, a major subdivision of the Western Carpathians....
. Since 2000 it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst
Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst
The Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst is a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of 712 caves spread out over a total area of 55,800 ha along the border of Hungary and Slovakia.-Background:This UNESCO World Heritage site includes seven components...
site. It lies 130 m above the Hnilec
Hnilec
Hnilec may refer to:* Hnilec , Slovakia* Hnilec , Slovakia...
River, and the entrance is at an altitude of 970 m.
The cave was discovered on 15 June 1870 by a royal mining engineer Eugen Ruffinyi
Eugen Ruffinyi
Eugen Ruffínyi was a mining engineer and amateur speleologist who, together with Gustav Lang und Andreas Méga, was the first to explore the Dobšinská Ice Cave.-Background and education:...
, accompanied by G. Lang and Andrej Mega, though the entrance was known from time immemorial by shepherds and hunters as Studená diera (Cold Hole). The cave was opened to the public one year after its discovery. In 1887, it was the first electrically lit cave in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
At about this time 7,171 square metres of the cave's known area of 8,874 square metres were reported covered with ice. The total ice volume was estimated at 125,000 cubic metres, which makes it one of the most important ice caves in the world. The thickness of the ice reaches up to 26.5 m.
The cave floor descends from the entrance which faces North; this results in rapid cooling of the cave in winter as cold air can fall down. On the other hand, the interior is quite protected from the warm environment in summer. Thus the annual temperature average stays around 0°C. The cave iced up, as this cycle repeated for many centuries. The age of the cave is estimated at approximately 250,000 years.
The total length of the cave is 1,483 m (some sources claim 1,232 m), of which 515 m are open to the public from May to September.
Famous visitors to the ice cave have been Prince August von Sachsen Gotha and his wife (1872), Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, GCSI was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.He attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a sea-level...
(constructor of the Suez Channel) and a party of French writers (1884), the Bulgarian czar Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Ferdinand , born Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry, was the ruler of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918, first as knyaz and later as tsar...
(1890) and the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
(1900).