Quackenschloss Cave

The Quackenschloss is a karst cave near Engelhardsberg a district of the Upper Franconian market town Wiesenttal in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria.

The Quackenschloss is a passage cave about 18 meters long. It is the remains of a very old and high-lying cave system. The rock wall has a patchy appearance due to the weathering of individual shells. The cave probably gets its name from this rock composition. The type of stone with holes in it (smokewacke) is called quacke here. The oblique oval shape of the cave is determined by two longitudinal fissures and two diagonally sloping bank joints. Two larger fissures cross the passage. One portal is about 7 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, the other, divided by a rock pillar, is about 9 meters wide and 5 meters high. The cave is registered as C 4 in the Franconian Alb Cave Register (HFA). It has been designated by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment as an important geotope (474R060)[1] and as a natural monument (ND-04580).The cave, which is easily accessible via hiking trails, is one of the most frequently visited destinations in the Franconian Jura, also because of its scenic location. There is a sport climbing area next to the cave.
Source: Wikipedia

Once a young hunter in the Wiesent valley chased a stag that suddenly disappeared before his eyes. He saw in front of him a gate leading into the rock. Dwarfs stood there inviting him to follow them. He came to a splendid hall where, on a golden throne, sat a lovely fairy, who let him sit beside her. The hunter liked it in this splendor. The fairy had the plan to raise him after some time to her husband. But the hunter remembered his sweetheart, whom he had left on earth and the vast forests and asked for his release from the magic palace. The consequences of this wish were appalling. The fairy sank dead, the palace collapsed and the hunter was found dead at the foot of the Quacken castle.