Buchenlochhöhle


Useful Information

Location: North of Gerolstein.
(50.2316641, 6.6600238)
Open: APR to SEP no restrictions.
[2021]
Fee: free.
[2021]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension: L=30 m, W=4 m, H=2,4 m.
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Hartwig Löhr (2008): Buchenloch-Höhle, In: Führer zu archäologischen Denkmälern des Trierer Landes (= Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier [Hrsg.]: Schriftenreihe des Rheinischen Landesmuseums Trier. Band 35). Trier 2008, ISBN 978-3-923319-73-2, S. 108 f..
Dr. Dohm (1975): Gerolstein in der Vulkaneifel Stadtverwaltung Gerolstein (Hrsg.), Volksfreund-Druckerei, Trier.
Address: Natur- und Geopark Vulkaneifel GmbH, Mainzer Str. 25, 54550 Daun, Tel.: +49-6592-933-203, Fax: +49-6592-933-6-203. E-mail:
Tourist-information Gerolsteiner Land, Am Bahnhof, 54568 Gerolstein, Tel: +49-6591-949910. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1880s archaeological excavation.
1890s stone tool found.
1938 under nature protection.
1943-1945 used as an air raid shelter.

Description

The Buchenlochhöhle is one of the few natural caves in the area, not a former quarry or mine. There are numerous holes in the Eifel area which are called Höhle (cave), but are not natural. The area has numerous volcanic sites, but there is the Munterley (aka Drohende Ley) rock, which is the karstified remains of a middle Devonic coral reef. The cave was named after the typical vegetation of the area, Buche is the German name for beech tree.

The Buchenlochhöhle is a karst cave with impressive entrance portal, showing the typical form of a cave formed along a cleft. The entrance is some 30 m long and has an average width of 4 m. The floor is much higher than the surroundings, but it may be easily reached by a wooden staircase. Its possible to visit the cave without a torch, but it is better with a lamp. The floor is almost horizontal, normal hiking clothes are sufficient for the visit.

The cave was already frequented by animals in the Quaternary period; finds of mammoth, cave bear, wild horse, reindeer and woolly rhinoceros have been made. The cave has probably also been visited by humans since the Neolithic period. But only a single flint blade was discovered in the cave to proof this. Much better is the time of World War II documented, when the cave was used by citizens of Gerolstein as a hideout. The deposits of the millennia filled the cave partially, the ceiling was only 2.4 m high. But today the cave is almost completely excavated and the ceiling much higher.