Naturhöhle Altfinstermünz

Finstermünzhöhle

Useful Information

photography — Altfinstermünz, Tirol, Austria. Public Domain.

Location:	B180, 6543 Nauders, (46.929339, 10.487279)
Open:	JUN to SEP Tue-Sun 11-16:30. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 8, School Pupils EUR 2, Children (0-14) free. [2024]
Classification:	Erosional Cave Cave Castle
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=14 m, W=8 m, H=12 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	P. Huber (1989): Die Finstermünzhöhle (2211/1) im Oberinntal (Tirol) Höhlenkundliche Mitteilungen Wien und Niederösterreich 10-1989, S. 205. P. Huber (1989) Höhlen in Tirol im Bereich Pfunds Höhlenkundliche Mitteilungen Wien und Niederösterreich 3-1989, S. 81-82. Christoph Spötl, Harald Stadler (2017): Höhlenburgen in Nordtirol - eine Spurensuche Die Höhle 1-4/2017, 134-143. pdf
Address:	Verein Altfinstermünz, 6543 Nauders 221, Tirol, Tel: +43-660-5642538. 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

1st century	Roman Via Claudia Augusta built across the Reschenpass.
9th to 11th century	Altfinstermünz was the place of jurisdiction for the Lower Engadine, Nauders and Pfunds region.
1078	Duke Welf of Bavaria stations a garrison in the "Clusa" (Enge or hermitage of Altfinstermünz) during his campaign against the bishops of Chur.
1159	first mentioned in a document as "Vinestana silva" ("Forest of Finstermünz").
1472	Archduke Sigismund of Austria had border fortifications built at this strategically favourable location, including a bridge over the Inn, to protect against invasions from the Engadin.
2001	Verein Altfinstermünz takes over management and modernizes the site.
2004 and 2005	cave excavated.
2008/09	Visitor Center built.
2013	renovation completed.
2017/18	restaurant Klausenschenke renovated and reopened.

Description

Naturhöhle Altfinstermünz is actually not a name, it is just a description. The cave is actually named Finstermünzhöhle and has the cadastre number 2211/1, but this name is not used in descriptions of the place for unknown reasons. Naturhöhle translates "natural cave", so this is not a subterranea, it is actually a mostly natural cave. Altfinstermünz is the castle at the river, where the cave is located.

The Inn valley is an important place for crossing the mountain ridge of the Alps. There are several side valleys with passes, and here in the gorge-like upper part of the Inn Valley, a side valley branches off to Nauders and Reschen, after which the Reschen Pass was named. This pass has been used since prehistoric times, not far away a prehistoric man who crossed the Alps was found in a glacier. The first road across the Reschenpass was built by the Romans, the Via Claudia Augusta, later it was fortified by Medieval castles, and finally in the 20th century it was shut down and replaced by a modern road, which was built higher up along the valley. The reasons are obvious, the bottom of the gorge was suitable for a narrow medieval road, but a modern paved two-lane road needed more space. This road, named Hochfinstermünzstraße, was first built in 1854 by Karl Ritter von Ghega. And there is another modern development, the Inn river is the border between Austria on the eastern side and Switzerland on the western. And on both sides of the river is a road, the Austrian leading to the Reschenpass and to Italy, the Swiss road leading to Scuol and the Vereina Tunnel. But here the roads are only 400 m apart, separated by the gorge, the river and the political boundary. And from both sides a trail leads down to the buildings called Altfinstermünz so you can visit the site from both sides.

The road along the river crossed the river at this point. The wooden bridge was suitable for hikers and small carts. In the middle of the river they built a tower, which was a pilar of the bridge but also a fortification for the protection of the important bridge. It allowed controlling the traffic, and it was used as a customs station. On the eastern side of the river there were several buildings along the road, a sort of castle with towers and other buildings, a building from the Renaissance which was used as a inn named Klausenhof for centuries, and a chapel from the 18th century. Customs duties have been levied here since around 1300, the toll tariffs are recorded since 1534. Around 1472, Archduke Sigismund of Austria had a border fortifications built at this strategically favourable location. This included the bridge across the Inn river which did not yet have the massive tower we can see today. The castle was named Siegmundsegg after him. It seems he feared invasions from the Engadin. And he was right, the Swabian War between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg was in 1499, and the castle was an important fortification.

The bridge was fortified by a massive tower from 1502 to 1537. The tower in the centre of the river is crenellated, and its pitch nose protrudes over the bridge. From 1652, Finstermünz was the border between the Habsburg County of Tyrol and the Free State of the Three Leagues. The bridge was renewed in 1845, renovated in 1948/49 and again in the 1990s, it is open to the public again since 1999. In other words, it’s possible to cross the river freely, but only by foot.

But the cave we are actually talking about is located inside the castle ruins, oiginally a n overhanging cliff face open towards the Inn, which originally had a shallower depth than today. In the late Middle Ages, the cave was artificially extended and walled off on all sides. Blast hole drillings indicate later changes to the cave. The Felsengang (rock corridor) connecting the cave with the Sigmundseck tower at the bridge is artificial and was built in the late 16th century along a cleft in the rock. If it was built together with the Sigmundseck in 1472 is unclear, but it is documented on a plan from 1615. The cave is integrated into the castle, and the rock is Bündnerschiefer, a local slate, which is not soluble and thus not suitable for the formation of caves. So this cave is, despite its rather small sitze, quite exceptional. Most likely, it was formed by tectonic movement, which created a zone of weakness in the rock, and the erosion of the Inn river, which eroded the weakened rock away. So this cave is definitely worth a visit, although the current operators concentrate on the archaeological aspects of the cave and do not explain much about the geology, unfortunately. The cave has been used by man since prehistoric times, it is a good shelter during bad weather. Located right beneath the Roman road, it was definitely frequented during the last 2,000 years. Unfortunately, the floor of the cave is in reach of the floods of the Inn river, and so remains were destroyed numerous times. During history the castle was obviously owned by the government. In 1884 much of the buildings was sold to a private owner, and it changed ownership several times. In 2001 the municipality Nauders bought the castle, and in 2003 also the bridge and the tower Sigmundseck. They founded the non-profit associatio Verein Altfinstermünz which now manages the site. As they planned to use the cave for films, so the cave was excavated in 2004 and 2005 by the Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte sowie Mittelalter- und Neuzeitarchäologie (Institute of Prehistory and Early History as well as Medieval and Modern Archaeology) of the University Innsbruck to make sure no archaeological evidence was lost in this process. The result was rather unimpressive, the oldest remains were from the 14th century. At the end of the 18th century, the main cave was divided into a western and an eastern half, and the entire room was also divided into two levels with a wooden floor. The cave was used as a kitchen for some time, another part was used as a toilet. Today you can sit down on benches and watch a film about the castle and its history projected onto the cave wall.

The impressive backdrop was used in 1932 by Luis Trenker, the famous mountaineer, actor and director, as a location for his film Der Rebel (The Rebel, 1932). It depicts an episode in the history of his South Tyrolian home in the early 19th century, the Tiroler Volksaufstand (Tyrolean Rebellion), the resistance of militiamen, peasants, craftsmen and other civilians against the Bavarian/French occupation.