Eisensteinhöhle

Useful Information

Location:	Brunn a. d. Schneebergbahn 206, 2721 Brunn an der Schneebergbahn. From Vienna South Motorway E57 to the south, exit 44 Wiener Neustadt, turn left onto B26 4 km to Weikersdorf am Steinfelde, turn right to Brunn an der Schneebergbahn, follow the signs in the village. Car park at the end of the village, 450 m/5 minutes walk to the cave. (47.8305679, 16.1434250)
Open:	Cave: MAY to OCT, 1st and 3rd Sun of the month 10, 12, 14, 16. Registration by Friday before mandatory. Museum: All year Thu-Sun 10-17. [2025]
Fee:	Cave: Adults EUR 6, Children EUR 3. Museum: free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave. Cave and Karst Museum Vertical cave, early Triassic conglomerates and breccias Cave Coral Aragonite
Light:	Bring full caving gear
Dimension:	A=380 m ü.A., L=2,341 m, VR=90 m, T=13 °C.
Guided tours:	D=90 min, VR=75 m, MinAge=10.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Franz Mühlhofer (1906): Die Reichsritter von und zu Eisenstein-Grotte bei Fischau-Brunn, Helga Hartmann, Wilhelm Hartmann (2000): Die Höhlen Niederösterreichs, Landesverein für Höhlenkunde in Wien und Niederösterreich, Band 5, Wien 2000, pp. 324-331.
Address:	Sektion Wiener Neustadt, ÖAV (Austrian Alpine Society), Baumkirchnerring 41579, 2700 Wiener Neustadt, Tel: +43-650-9125750. E-mail: Gerhard Winkler: Tel: +43-2639-7577.
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

1855	found during quarry works, first exploration by K.K. Geniemajor Freiherr v. Scholl, Hauptmann Werner and Oberleutnant Schmelhaus.
1896	second exploration by some kids.
1906	left to the Sektion Wiener Neustadt of the Österreichischer Alpenverein (Austrian Alpine Club) by the old owner Carl Ritter von Eisenstein.
1906	first book Die Reichsritter von und zu Eisenstein-Grotte bei Fischau-Brunn by Leutnant Mühlhofer.
1907	first guided tour by cave guide J. Artner.
1919	discovery of a termal spring (16,5 °C).
1931	declared a Naturdenkmal (natural monument) according to the Naturhöhlengesetz (Natural Cave Law) from 1928.
1956	bought by the Österreichischer Alpenverein.
1958	new passages discovered, a new entrance built to provide easier access.
1969	Haus Eisensteinhöhle built at the cave entrance.
1972	cave museum inaugurated.

Description

The Eisensteinhöhle is named after its original owner, Reichsritter Eissner von und zu Eisenstein. Its original name was too complicated to last: Reichsritter von und zu Eisenstein-Grotte. It was discovered during quarry works in 1855 and first explored by some officers from the K.K. army. The owner, above knight, immediately stoped all quarry works to protect the cave. In 1907 the cave was developed as a show cave by the Sektion Wiener Neustadt of the Österreichischer Alpenverein (Austrian Mountaineering Club). They still maintain the cave and the cave museum.

The cave is not really a show cave, the tours are rather rough, and it is open only two weekends per month. Thus a cave museum was built, to inform visitors at other times or those who are not able to visit the cave.

The tours are called "Höhlenabenteuer" (cave adventure), which gives the impression that they are cave trekking tours. This is not the case, it is more like a historic show cave tour, but the tour requires some physical fitness. Visitors to the cave used to be equipped with a helmet, overalls, boots and carbide lamps. Nowadays, however, visitors are advised to bring old clothes, wellies and a helmet with a headlamp. In the age of LED lamps, this last bastion of the carbide lamp has also fallen. If you do not have caving equipment, old and hard-wearing clothing are advisable. Be sure to bring a change of clothes, a towel and a plastic bag for dirty clothes and equipment. The tours goes down a shaft and over four iron ladders. At some points of the tour the ceiling gets low, and it is necessary to crawl. Also, 75 m down and back up costs some energy. Visitors should think about their physical fitness before they visit this cave.

At the lowest point of the tour, a thermal spring with 15 °C is reached. This thermal spring influences the cave climate. The temperature is at least 5 °C higher than would be normal at this altitude. And this extraordinary cave climate is also responsible for the amount of interesting calcite crystals which can be found all over the cave. Cave corals and aragonite crystals are very common. The high temperature is also responsible for a high number and variety of cave fauna, like Atheta spelea, Trechus austriacus and other cave insects. It is assumed that the formation of the cave was also favoured by the thermal water.

The Höhlenmuseum Eisensteinhöhle (Cave Museum Eisensteinhöhle) is a small speleological museum, located at the entrance of the Eisensteinhöhle. The museum was primarly created as an information center for the cave. It contains maps, surveys, photographs, documents, and gear of the early cave explorers to document the history of the exploration. This exhibition is completed by an overview of the geology and the fauna and flora of the area. The museum was created by Kulturabteilung des Amtes der NÖ Landesregierung, the culture section of the government of Niederösterreich.

At the entrance to the cave is the Haus Eisenstein, which was built in 1969 as a cave house for storing caving equipment and carbide lamps. The Alpine Club had already bought the site a decade earlier. As it is an Alpine Club building, it is an Alpenvereinshütte (Alpine Club Hut), but as it is not high up on the mountain like all the others, it has since held the unbeaten record of being the lowest Schutzhütte (refuge) of the Austrian Alpine Club. Here you can experience a mountain lodge without having to climb for hours. Although the logistical possibilities are of course better here, the section has made a conscious decision to run it in the same way as a high alpine lodge.