Gombasek Cave or Gombasecká jaskyňa (in Slovak) and Gombaszögi-barlang (in Hungarian) is a karst cave in the

Slovak Karst The Slovak Karst () is one of the mountain ranges of the Slovenské Rudohorie mountains in the Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians in southern Slovakia. It consists of a complex of huge karst plains and plateaus. Since 1973 it has been a protected ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. It is named after the settlement of ''Gombasek'', which belongs to the village of Slavec. It is located in the

Slovak Karst National Park Slovak Karst National Park (''Národný park Slovenský kras'') is a national park in the Slovak Karst (''Slovenský kras'') mountain range in South East Slovakia. It lies in the Gelnica, Rožňava and Košice–okolie districts in the Košice ...

, in the Slaná river valley, approximately 15 km south of

Rožňava Rožňava (, , Latin: ''Rosnavia'') is a town in Slovakia, approximately by road from Košice in the Košice Region, and has a population of 19,182. The town is an economic and tourist centre of the Gemer. Rožňava is now a popular tourist attr ...

. The cave was discovered on 21 November 1951 by volunteer cavers. In 1955, 285 m out of 1 525 m were opened to the public. Currently, the route for visitors is 530 m long and takes about 30 minutes. The cave was also used for "speleotherapy" as a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

, focused on airway diseases. Since 1995, the Gombasek Cave is included in the

UNESCO World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

as a part of the Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst site because of its exemplary

speleothems A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depend ...

and its record of karst formation under varying conditions, including periods of glaciation and temperate, and tropical climatic conditions.

References

External links

Gombasek Cave
a
Slovakia.travelGombasek Cave at Slovak Caves Administration
Show caves in Slovakia World Heritage Sites in Slovakia Limestone caves Geography of Košice Region Tourist attractions in Košice Region Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst {{Slovakia-geo-stub

See also

References

External links