The Schellenberg Ice Cave is a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

located in the

Berchtesgaden Alps The Berchtesgaden Alps (german: Berchtesgadener Alpen) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. The central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Land district of sout ...

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and s ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, near the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n border. The cave belongs to the

Untersberg The Untersberg is the northernmost massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps, a prominent spur straddling the border between Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. The highest peak of the Table (landform), table-top mountain is the Berchtesgadener ...

massif, at 1570 metres above sea level, and is the only

ice cave An ice cave is any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all ...

open in Germany. It has an estimated ice volume of about 60,000 cubic meters and has been run as a

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

since 1925. The explored length of the ice cave is 3,621 meters, of which, 500 meters is a guided tour at temperatures near zero degrees Celsius. Closed between October and May, the ice cave can only be reached after a several-hour walk from the valley below, or a slightly shorter walk from the mountain station of the Untersbergbahn. It is one of two show caves in Germany without electric light, illuminated only by

carbide lamp Carbide lamps, or acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene (C2H2) which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water (molecule), water (H2O). Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings ...

s carried by the visitors. It is named after

Marktschellenberg Marktschellenberg is a municipality in the district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the E ...

, a nearby town in

Berchtesgadener Land Berchtesgadener Land ( Central Bavarian: ''Berchtsgoana Land'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria. History Middle ages and early modern era The southern ...

district. In 1826, it was first mentioned in writing, and fully explored by 1874.

References

External links

*http://eishoehle.net/ {{Authority control Caves of Germany

See also

References

External links