Oswaldhöhle


Useful Information

photography
Entrance of the Hollow Mountain or the Oswaldshöhle near Muggendorf. Public Domain.
photography
Interior of the Hollow Mountain or the Oswaldshöhle. Public Domain.
Location: Muggendorf.
Located at the walking trail Höhlenweg. Dooser Berg, in the first steep curve, trail to the right.
(49.8179807, 11.2446061)
Open: No restrictions.
[2023]
Fee: free.
[2023]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension: L=65 m, A=450 m asl.
North entrance: W=12 m, H=6 m.
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Andreas Georg Friedrich von Rebmann (1791): Heinrich von Neideck, Ein romantisches Gemälde aus dem Mittelalter, Erlangen : Walthersche Buchhandlung 1791, XVI, 231 S. online online
Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand von Brandenstein (1810): XXX Prospekte der merkwürdigsten Muggendorfer Gebirgsgegenden und Höhlen, Nürnberg, XXX Blätter Tafeln ; 8° Illustrationen: 30 Kupferstiche. online
Address: Touristinformation Wiesenttal, Forchheimer Str. 8, 91346 Wiesenttal-Muggendorf, Tel: +49-9196-929931, Fax: +49-9196-929930. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History


Description

photography
Oswaldhöhle, Germany. Public Domain.
photography
Oswaldhöhle, Germany. Public Domain.
photography
Oswaldhöhle, Germany. Public Domain.
photography
Oswaldhöhle, Germany. Public Domain.
photography
Oswaldhöhle, Germany. Public Domain.
photography
Oswaldhöhle, Germany. Public Domain.

Oswaldhöhle (Oswald Cave) is a spacious but quite short through-cave which is very easy to navigate due to the almost horizontal floor. Neither caving equipment nor a torch is necessary, although it is more pleasant if you have one. It is even crossed by official hiking trails, such as the Frankenweg (marking: red horizontal bar) and the Heinrich-Uhl-Weg (marking: red vertical line), and of course the Höhlenweg (cave trail). It is located on the Hohler Berg (hollow mountain), about 800 metres east of Muggendorf. Due to this central location and the very easy accessibility, this is probably the best-known freely accessible cave in Franconian Switzerland.

So this is one of the rare caves which are used to cross a mountain. But this was never an important route, today it is a touristic walking trail, historically it was made to guide early tourists to the cave. A nice detail is the sign at the entrance, which tells that the trail crosses the cave, but the ceiling goes down to 1.60 m. When entered from downhill, coming up from Muggendorf, the cave is really impressive. A huge wide portal, 12 m wide and about 6 m high, followed by a chamber of about 30 m length, gives shelter to the hikers during rain. It is ideal for a picknick or barbecue, but unfortunately the German nature protection law prohibits this. However, one could argue that it is probably the oldest cultural heritage to make fire in cave entrances, which deserves to be protected. When entering the cave it soon narrows and the ceiling goes down. Although there is only a very small part without daylight, a torch is highly recommended because the darkest part is also the lowest. It is still a very easy and harmless cave with an absolutely level floor. The cave is left through a much smaller portal at the foot of a cliff, the trail follows the cliff to the left.

At the lower entrance you can still see remains of walls from the time of the 30 Years' War. At that time, the cave served as a hiding place for the inhabitants of Muggendorf in case of danger. Whether the wall is actually a kind of fortification from that time, as is sometimes claimed, can no longer be determined today. Above the portal is a memorial plaque to the first explorers of the caves around Muggendorf, Johann Christian Rosenmüller, Johann Friedrich Esper and August Goldfuß. The cave was, of course, already visited during the Stone Age, but it was not explored in modern times until the 18th century.

It became known, among other things, through the book Heinrich von Neideck by Johann Andreas Georg Friedrich Rebmann (*1768-✝1824). The story of how the Oswald Cave got its name is told in this knightly novel. An unfortunate knight named Oswald is said to have lived as a hermit in the cave. He is said to have been very wise, which is why many people availed themselves of his advice and divination. He was honoured and loved by all the inhabitants of the land far and wide. Georg Friedrich Rebmann came from Erlangen, studied law there and graduated in Jena in 1789. He then returned to Erlangen where he published the book in 1791. Obviously, he had visited the Oswald Cave and probably included stories from the cave guide in his book. The von in the name appears in the second edition, and seems to be a marketing stunt.

An early detailed description of the cave was written by Johann Gottfried Köppel in 1795, two years later. The rich folklore surrounding the cave occupies considerable space. For example, it was assumed that unbelieving pagans sacrificed to their idols inside the cave, and a small pool of water to the left of the entrance was described as a pagan votive cauldron.

The cave is a dynamic ice cave. In winter, many ice stalagmites form in the cave, a result of a cold convection current. The cave air is warmer than the outside air in winter and therefore rises in the cave and exits through the upper exit. This draws in cold outside air at the lower entrance, which causes the dripping water to freeze. The cold cave, which is much colder during winter than normal caves, was used for this reason in the past to cool beer and store fruit. At that time, the cave had a wall at the entrance and exit, presumably either to protect the stored goods or to keep the cold air inside as long as possible.

The three caves Oswald Cave, Wunders Cave and Witzen Cave actually belong to the same cave system. They were separated by the deepening of the Wiesent valley.


photography photography

Oswaldshöhle from Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand von Brandenstein (1810): XXX Prospekte der merkwürdigsten Muggendorfer Gebirgsgegenden und Höhlen. Public Domain.