Felsenkeller Ice Cellar Neunkirchen am Brand

On the left side of the St 2243 road from Neunkirchen am Brand to Effeltrich (Forchheim district), hidden in a small group of trees, is the entrance to this former ice cellar. The group of trees is the natural monument 154 04 "Linde mit Arkazien am Felsenkeller" Fl. No. 782. Before the invention of refrigerators and cold stores, ice cellars were used to keep food fresh. They were either driven into sandstone rocks or built up with stones in holes in the ground and covered with a layer of earth. They usually consisted of an entrance area as an anteroom or (cold) lock and the actual cold room and therefore also had two doors. In winter, blocks of ice were extracted (sawed) from nearby ponds or lakes and taken to the ice cellar. The cooling effect could be used well into late summer with almost constant low temperatures.
The ice cellars had a drainage system on the floor leading to the outside, in order to let the melt water and the condensation water forming on the walls and the ceiling run off to the outside.