A rock cellar is usually a cellar hewn entirely out of stone. In regions where the rock is too hard (difficult to work) or too soft (risk of collapse), there are sometimes transitional forms to vaulted cellars, which are only partially or not at all hewn into the rock and are roofed with a vault made of stone blocks.
Originally, rock cellars were primarily used for storing beer and agricultural products due to the consistently low temperatures (8–12 °C on average) that prevailed there. For this reason, restaurants or beer gardens were often built in the immediate vicinity of larger rock cellar complexes, which enjoy great popularity, especially in summer.

While private house and storage cellars were initially sufficient, their capacity reached its limits as the production of agricultural products and beer consumption increased during the course of industrialization. Where the rock layers permitted, many private individuals or so-called cellar communities built cellars outside of towns and often in small forests where shade-providing trees could further reduce the ground temperature in summer.

The construction boom for rock cellars, with regional variations, mostly began in the 19th century. In Franconia, for example, cellars have always been highly valued due to the high density of breweries, and the peak of cellar construction can be dated quite precisely between 1850 and 1860. In the Aischgrund region alone, between Marktbergel and Adelsdorf, one can count well over 600 cellars from this period. In the southern part of the Thuringian district of Hildburghausen, there are also private cellars in or near every town; the rock cellars are almost the only thing left of the town of Erlebach, which was resettled due to its proximity to the inner-German border.

With the advent of new cooling methods, many of the smaller private cellars have become inoperable, are open, or have fallen into disrepair. However, they continue to serve as conservation grounds, as they serve as important wintering grounds for protected species, such as bats.

Source: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felsenkeller#Weblinks

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Location: Bad Staffelstein, Lichtenfels, Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

Felsenkeller bei Kümmersreuth

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