Top 20 Caves 상부 팔츠

Beautiful rock formations in the forest

Beautiful view back over the Vils

Rock formations are now majestically visible in March. They soon disappear into the sea of leaves and are then almost invisible again—unfortunately!

The Mystery Grotto is located near Neuhaus an der Pegnitz and is part of the Karst Hiking Trail. The name of the grotto comes from a legend that tells of the "White Lady". This legend says that the cursed soul of Countess Kunigunde von Leuchtenburg, who lived in the 13th century, is said to appear in the grotto as a restless spirit. The grotto is about 12 meters wide and 16 meters long and offers an impressive hall. Beautiful ice formations can be admired, especially in winter. The entrance to the grotto is partially walled up and closed in winter during the bat protection period. The grotto is only accessible from April to September.

The beginnings of the pilgrimage to the Mariahilfberg date back to the late 17th century. At that time there was a small burial chapel modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and a Way of the Cross. A wooden Lady Chapel was built in 1687 very close to the Calvary. Her most valuable jewelry was a copy of a famous painting of the Virgin Mary by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Today's pilgrimage church was built between 1718 and 1727 as one of five baroque Marian shrines in western Upper Palatinate. The richly decorated baroque high altar by Johann Ulrich Wiest contains the famous miraculous image of the Virgin and Child, which is deeply revered to this day.

The entrance lies beautifully in the midst of the stately rocks. The cave itself is actually rather small at around 12 meters in diameter. Rather, it owes its charm to the mysterious entrance, which at first seems to duck away from the visitor. And the legend to which the name Mysteriengrotte goes back is, thanks to the scary factor, an additional mood factor. Because this is where the “White Woman” is supposed to appear again and again. And this legend even has a true origin. Because the "White Woman" is said to be the cursed soul of Countess Kunigunde von Leuchtenburg, who lived at the foot of the Plassenburg in the 13th century. She murdered her two children, believing that the infants would stand in the way of her remarriage to Albrecht the Handsome, Burgrave of Nuremberg. Despite extensive penance in later, still unmarried days and the founding of a monastery, which she presided over as abbess, her restless spirit is said to have haunted the Mystery Grotto since her death.

An impressive rock on the river

Beautiful forest path along ingenious moss-covered rocks