Jaskinia Nietoperzowa

Bat Cave - Jerzmanowicka - Ksieza - Biala


Useful Information

photography
Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) in Jaskinia Nietoperzowa, Poland. Public Domain.
Location: Near the village of Jerzmanowice, Kolonia i Wschodnia 79, Municipality of Jerzmanowice-Przeginia, province of Cracow. Bedkovska Valley. B 94 Kraków-Ojcow-Nationalpark, left of the park. 18 km northwest of Cracow.
200 m walk from the parking lot to the cave.
(50.193863, 19.774458)
Open: APR to SEP daily 9-17:30.
OCT to 11-NOV daily 10-15:30.
[2020]
Fee: Adults PLN 12, Children PLN 8.
[2020]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: L=454 m, A=447 m asl.
Guided tours: L=306 m, D=40 min.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: yes
Bibliography:  
Address: Jaskinia Nietoperzowa, ul. Nietoperzowa 88, 32-048 Jerzmanowice, Tel: +48-605-467-892, Tel: +48-12-389-53-95.
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

1841 first mentioned.
1994 opened to the public.
1998 filming of With Fire and Sword.
2014 filming of Bangistan.

Description

Jaskinia Nietoperzowa (Bat Cave) is a spacious system of chambers and corridors. The biggest chamber is 30 m long, 20 m wide and 9.5 m high. The origin of the name is that it contains the largest number of bats in the area.

The cave is a popular movie location. Scenes of the movie With Fire and Sword (1999, imdb 7.0) directed by Jerzy Hoffman were shot in the cave. Also the Bollywood blockbuster Bangistan (2015, imdb 4.6). Most impressive is that the cave was used to shoot a film scene of riding horses.

The cave is very rich in remains from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and from the Middle Ages. The oldest remains are Middle Palaeolithic assemblages of sidescrapers, originating from the end of the Middle Pleistocene. Upper Palaeolithic levels contain laurel-leaf points of the Jerzmanowician industry. They are dated by one C14 date to 38,500 BP. There are Neolithic and later remains in the top layer. The cave has a small exhibition of speleothems, archaeological and paleontological finds.