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

Dobšinská Ice Cave

Dobšinská Ice Cave or Dobšinská ľadová jaskyňa 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...

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Background and education

The Ruffínyi family had moved to Dobšiná from Italy because Eugene's father accepted a position as a mining engineer in this Slovak

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...

 city. This suggests that the original name probably was Ruffini. Eugene attended primary school in Dobšiná, and high school in Kežmarok

Kežmarok

Kežmarok is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia , on the Poprad River.-History:...

. He then took up mining studies in Banská Štiavnica

Banská Štiavnica

Banská Štiavnica is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of more than 10,000. It is a completely preserved medieval town...

, where he earned his degree in 1869. On his return to Dobšiná he became a mining overseer and metallurgical inspector.

Exploration of the Dobšinská ice cave

While touring the Duča hill near Dobšiná with his friend Lt. Gustav Lang in 1869, Ruffínyi threw a stone into an opening in the rock that was known as Studená diera ("Cold Hole") in local lore. From the multiple and delayed echos the men got the impression that a substantial cave must extend beyond the entrance, and decided to return for an exploration. On June 15, 1870 Ruffinyi was the first to enter the cave sliding down on a hemp rope.

Sources

• Krenner JS
  József Sándor Krenner
  József Sándor Krenner or Joseph Krenner was an Hungarian mineralogist. He discovered several new minerals....
  
  , Die Eishöhle von Dobschau. K. Ungar. Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft, 1874