Lamprechtsofen

The Lamprecht Oven

Useful Information

entrance with restaurant and ticket office.

Location:	Near the Saalachtal Bundesstraße (federal highway) between Lofer and Saalfelden. About 2km NW off Weißbach. You can see the entrance from the road, a parking lot is at the entrance. (47°31'33.44"N, 12°44'20.16"E)
Open:	All year daily 9-16:30. [2004]
Fee:	Adults EUR 3.20, Children (6-14) EUR 1.60. [2004]
Classification:	Karst cave river cave.
Light:	electric.
Dimension:	VR=-1,632m, L=50,000m, A=660m asl.
Guided tours:	D=45min, L=600m.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Rosa Ebser, Lamprechtshöhle, Obsthurn 28, Weißbach über A-5090 Lofer, Tel: +43-6582-8343.
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

1701	the cave was closed to provide damage by treasure hunters.
end of the 18th century	the scientific research started.
1905	several human sekeletons discovered, probably the remains of treasure hunters.
1905	600m of the cave were opened to the public.
04-JAN-1991	four Germans, cavers from Nuremberg, were trapped in the cave for one day.
1998	new parts of the cave were discovered, connecting two cave systems and making the Lamprechtsofe the deepest cave on Earth!
05-SEP-1998	after heavy rain the cave was flooded while a cave tour with 14 visitors from all over the world were inside the cave.
19-AUG-1998	Polish speleologist discover connection to Pl-2 cave, which makes the cave the deepest cave of the world with 1,632m.
01-JUN-2001	World cave depth record taken by Voronya Cave (Krubera Cave) in Abkhazia, Georgia (-1710 m).

Description

artificial dam with cascade, built for a hydroelectric power plant inside the cave.

The Lamprechtsofen is located in the northermost outcrop of the Leoganger Steinberge. It is the youngest of the Dachstein Caves. A legend explains how the cave got its name.

Many centuries ago, Knight Lamprecht, who owned a castle in this valley, is said to have brought back a treasure from a crusade. His two daughters inherited the treasure, but soon the greedier one stole her sister's share and hid it in the Lamprecht Cave.

local legend.

For centuries to come, many people searched the cave in order to find the fortune and prove that the legend was true. Their fruitless efforts assumed such alarming proportions that the regional government of the prince-bishopric of Salzburg had the cave walled up in 1701. Obviously this is rather fruitless, as the entrance is due to heavy floodings. The cave river leaves the cave through this entrance several times a year during snow melt and after heavy rains and destroys any installation pretty fast.

Neither impressive sinter formations nor ice can be found in the Lamprecht Cave. But a waterfall, subterranean brooks, lakes and the enormous dimension of the cave make up for that!

And although the cave is a show cave, it also is a river cave. It is impossible to visit the cave in times of heavy rain or in the spring. The cave has an alarm system to prevent people from being trapped in the cave, but still it happens. In January 1991 a party of for cavers from Nuremberg, Germany was trapped in the cave. In the two days, they spent inside the cave, the weather outside changed and melting snow caused the flood. But they were rescued by a team of 17 Austrian cavers, including two divers, after several hours.

In August 1998 a team of ten cavers from Salzburg and Krakau found a connection between Lamprechtsofen Cave and the PL-2 cave system. The height difference of this united cave system is 1,632m and made this cave the worlds deepest cave! Its new length is over 50km which is also remarkable.

Just a few days after this discovery, once again people were trapped in the cave. A group of 14 cave tourists, among them seven children, had to stay in the cave from late afternoon until they were rescued at 23:00. The water had risen very fast, because of heavy rain. This situation is a bit anoying, but it is not dangerous at all. Only a short passage is flooded, most of the cave is still dry. It just becomes a bit cool after some time, so the cave administration placed a big box with warm blankets and food inside the cave.

The fame of Lamprechtsofen being the deepest cave of the world lasted only for three years. In June 2001, a deeper cave was explored in Georgia. The deepest cave of the world is now Voronya pestera (Krubera Cave) in Abkhazia, Georgia, which is 2,140m (OCT-2005) deep.

Lamprechtsofen Gallery