Jaskinia Głęboka

Useful Information

Location:	Near Zawiercie. Between Żarki and Kroczyce on road 792, 1 km west of Podlesice.
Open:	15-APR to APR daily 9-16. MAY to AUG daily 9-18. SEP to OCT daily 9-16. [2011]
Fee:
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=175 m, VR=16 m, T=8 °C, H=95-98%, A=380 m asl.
Guided tours:	L=60 m, D=30 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Towarzystwo Miłośników Ziemi Zawierciańskiej, ul. Piastowska 1, 42-400 Zawiercie, Tel: +48-32-672-2165, Tel: +48-32-672-2853. 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

1942	limestone quarrying started.
1948	explored and added to the cave inventory by K. Kowalski.
1970s	developed as a show cave.
1996	15 m of cave discovered and surveyed.
2006	installations renovated.
2010	opened to the public.

Description

Jaskinia Głęboka (Deep Cave) is located inside a former limestone quarry in the Kruczych Skałach (Krucze Rocks) on Górze Zborów (Mount Assemblies). The limestone deposit was discovered before World War II, but quarrying was started by the Germans in 1942. During the quarrying the cave was discovered and the middle part of the cave destroyed. The quarry actually runs through the middle part of the cave, so there are now two branches of the same cave on both sides of the quarry. The 1970sm the southern branch was developed as a show cave with concrete trails. For some reason it was abandoned and closed until in 2006 the cave was renovated and reopened in 2010 by the Towarzystwo Miłośników Ziemi Zawierciańskiej (Society of Friends of the Earth Zawiercie).

The two parts of the cave have been connected and the openings to the quarry closed. As a result the cave climate stabilized to a state similar to the state before the discovery. As a result the cave again provides ptimal conditions for troglodites. The was one of the central topics of the restoration, as the cave is a part of a nature protection effort which includes the renaturization of karst landscapes by reviving sheep herding. Also nature trails were created. The whole project was financed by the European Community.

This cave is very small and has almost no speleothems. What once existed was destroyed by decades of quarrying, abandonment and vandalism. But it is the only show cave in the small karst region called Jura, an outcrop of Jurassic rocks which is karstified and has numerous small caves. It is definitely worth a visit if you make it a full day trip and walk the interesting karst trail and see the small cave ruins at the trail and the fine karst landscape.