The Eisriesenwelt
(German for "World of the Ice Giants") is a natural limestone ice cave
located in Werfen, Austria, about 40 km south of Salzburg. The cave is
inside the Hochkogel mountain in the Tennengebirge section of the Alps.
It is the largest ice cave in the world, extending more than 42km and
visited by about 200,000 tourists every year.
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The Tennengebirge mountains were formed during the late Tertiary period,
during the Würm glaciation period of the Pleistocene. The mountain
range, one of the massifs in the Austrian Alps, is the largest karst
plateau in the Salzburger Alps, and the Eisriesenwelt is located at the
rim of this plateau. Although the cave has a length of 42 km, only the
first kilometer, the area that tourists are allowed to visit, is covered
in ice. The rest of the cave is formed of limestone. Eisriesenwelt was
formed by the Salzach river, which eroded passageways into the mountain.
The ice formations in the cave were formed by thawing snow which
drained into the cave and froze during winter. Since the entrance to the
caves is open year-round, chilly winter winds blow into the cave and
freeze the snow inside. In summer, a cold wind from inside the cave
blows toward the entrance and prevents the formations from melting.
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History — The first official discovery of Eisriesenwelt was by Anton
Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, in 1879, though he only
explored the first two hundred meters of the cave. Before his discovery,
the cave was known only to locals, who, believing that it was an
entrance to Hell, refused to explore it. In 1880, Posselt published his
findings in a mountaineering magazine, but the report was quickly
forgotten. Alexander von Mörk, a speleologist from Salzburg, was one of
the few people who remembered Posselt's discovery. He led several
expeditions into the caves beginning in 1912, which were soon followed
by other explorers. Von Mörk was killed in World War I in 1914, and an
urn containing his ashes is inside a niche in the cave. In 1920, a cabin
for the explorers, Forscherhütte, was built and the first routes up the
mountain were established. Tourists began to arrive soon after,
attracted by the cave's sudden popularity. Later another cabin, the Dr.
Oedl House, and paths from Werfen and Tänneck were constructed. In 1955 a
cable car was built, shortening the 90-minute climb to 3 minutes. Today
the Eisriesenwelt cave is owned by the National Austrian Forest
Commission, which has leased it to the Salzburg Association of Cave
Exploration since 1928. The Forest Commission still receives a
percentage of the entrance fees.
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Visiting — The cave is open from May
1st to October 26th every year. Its operating hours are 9:00 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. in July and August and 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in May/June and
September/October. Temperatures inside the cave are usually below
freezing, and warm clothing is recommended. Photography is not permitted
once visitors are inside the cave. The tour begins at the entrance to
the cave, and continues inwards to Posselt Hall, a large room with a
stalagmite called Posselt Tower in the centre. Past the Posselt Tower,
one encounters an ashen cross on the wall of the cave, marking the
farthest point of exploration of Anton Posselt. From there one can see
the Great Ice Embankment, a massive formation that rises to a height of
25 metres and represents the area of greatest ice growth. Next is
Hymir's Castle, named after a giant in Norse mythology. Here stalactites
create a formation called Frigga's Veil, or the Ice Organ. Next on the
tour is the Alexander von Mörk Cathedral, one of the largest rooms in
the cave and the final resting place of von Mörk's ashes. The final stop
on the tour is the Ice Palace, a kilometre into the cave and 400 metres
underground. From here, visitors must turn around and walk back through
the caves to reach the entrance. The round-trip tour through the cave
takes around one hour and 15 minutes. Wiki
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