Top 20 Caves ヴァルヴィヒでの

As mentioned before, the path is no longer maintained. In addition to the vegetation, the steep slope and loose rock are particularly problematic. In many places it is also difficult to see where the path goes (the path is not marked on any digital maps) and it is easy to get lost on the impassable slope. It is very dangerous to walk on and therefore not recommended. The Castor Cave is also more of a large niche in the rock and not really worth the risk of fighting your way down there. There should be clearer warnings at the Kompus-Käppche about entering the cave, or the path should be repaired, as the cave is advertised on a sign and there is only a tiny note saying that the path is closed.

The "cave" has a depth of approx. 2 m. It is certainly a highlight for children.

With a depth of about 2 m, the height is certainly a highlight for children.

The path to the cave is currently blocked by trees lying across it, but it is not insurmountable.

Nice little unexpected cave

Nice, small, hidden cave along the way.

At the tunnel entrances in the split huts (some of the ruins are still there today), the slate blocks were split into thin slates (layers). The material that cannot be used as roofing slate (“deaf rock”, in some cases over 90% of the extracted material) was deposited in heaps in front of the tunnels and thus allows conclusions to be drawn about the size of the tunnels. In the last months of the war, the slate tunnels served the population as protection from air raids. Today the tunnels are closed with grids because of the danger of collapse, but bats provide welcome protection for wintering. The spoil heaps are an ideal habitat for heat-loving species such as snakes and lizards.

After the Prussian government had banned traditional straw roofing in the 19th century because of the high risk of fire, roofing slate gained economic importance on the Strimmiger-Berg. The municipalities granted mining permits to individual operators, who in turn employed farmers as day laborers and thus enabled many men to earn additional income until the early 20th century. Horizontal tunnels were manually driven into the mountain in order to break slate blocks and to bring them to the surface with the help of carts. The tools that were available for this were only hammers, chisels and saws, the only light source in the tunnels was carbite lamps. It was therefore a very laborious and very dangerous job, to which there was no alternative for many large families.