Top 13 Caves ヴァイラーバイモンジンゲンでの

At the refuge - view of Gemünden & Baroque castle

The tunnel leads a few meters into the mountain before opening into a large, cubic mining chamber (approx. 30 x 10 m, >5 m high). Several tunnels extend further into the mountain from this chamber. Remains of the walls of former farm buildings can still be found in front of the tunnel entrance. There are five more tunnels in the Leimberg mountain, but no building remains. It is unclear whether this is the "Three Men" mine, the only one mentioned for the Gehlweiler district.

The tunnel mouth is about 50m from the path of the dream loop (forest path) away above the slope behind the fenced garden plots on a forgotten and overgrown farm road. After the low entrance, you come across a rusty ladder after 10 meters and only looking back reveals that the entrance was probably earlier. Then it gets exciting, because it's a bit slippery on a slope 15 meters further and a good 5 meters down(!). If you are at the bottom, turn left at right angles. This level leads through several excavation rooms, which are wide but not high, a good 70 meters far into a dome that is also low, from which tunnels lead off on both sides. But you can also go straight ahead 60 meters, then you would have to go through knee-deep water for a good 20 meters and then you might have to go further. The tunnel to the right leads 50 meters to a cathedral and then another 50 meters further. The left tunnel ends after about 45 meters. So you have a lot to do!

There is a lot to explore here

A few meters away from the Soonwaldsteig at the bridge over the Steinbach, an unslated tunnel leads into the mountain. After about 40 meters, a mining dome opens up, from which another tunnel leads off and where a small bench was improvised. A tombstone documents the lifetime of a Philipp Schmitt (1869-1951). About the history: The "Altlayenkaul" pit near Rudolfshaus below Bruschied dates back to the 17th century. According to entries in old church books, 13 miners died there in 1740 when a mine collapsed. There is a document from 1840 in which King Wilhelm IV of Prussia granted the mining rights to this pit to the predecessor of the Drescher family. The Drescher family acquired the mine in 1875. In 1953 the Katharinen shaft was rebuilt. In 1956, 2 foremen and 52 men were employed in this mine.

So my daughter was a bit disappointed with the "cave". Even as a child, it was difficult to crawl a few meters into the tunnel. But a flashlight helps with the Schinderhannes Cave adventure. In front of the cave there is a small stream and picnic tables that invite you to linger.

Hidden tunnel mouth, one of several in the region. Exciting.

The former mining activity is clearly visible at a slate heap by the roadside. To the right and above the heap is a side tunnel leading into the mountain (therefore not directly visible from the path). This tunnel extends approximately 10 meters into the mountain before reaching a sluice gate with two steel doors. Passing through these doors, one enters a large mining chamber. This tunnel was likely used as a blasting chamber. A few meters further to the right, i.e., to the south, is another tunnel that forks at a right angle after a few meters. The right branch ends after a few meters, while the left branch continues for at least 50 meters further into the mountain and then opens into a large mining chamber where spoil heaps have been piled up.