Kraushöhle

Kraus Cave

Useful Information

Location:	In Gams near Hieflau. Follow road to the Nothklamm, a gorge at the western end of the village. 2 km from turn off to parking lot. 15 min walk from the parking lot, first 200 m along a single lane road, then steep uphill on a winding trail. (47.6683645, 14.8037984)
Open:	MAY to OCT Fri-Sun, Hol 10, 14. Austrian Summer School Holidays daily 10, 14. Online booking mandatory. [2025]
Fee:	Adults EUR 23, Children (6-15) EUR 16, Family (2+2) EUR 62. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave Hypogene Caves First Caves with Electric Light
Light:	LED
Dimension:	A=620 m asl, L=340 m, T=5-8 °C, VR=24 m.
Guided tours:	D=90 min, Min=4.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no, steep ascend, staircase in the cave
Bibliography:	Franz Kraus (1894): Höhlenkunde, Faksimile 2009, Wissenschaftliche Beihefte zur Zeitschrift "Die Höhle", Nr. 56. online
Address:	Gemeinde Landl Infrastrukturentwicklungs KG, A 8923 Palfau 1, Tel: +43-3633-2201-50. 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

1838	known to the locals.
1881	systematic exploration and development by Franz Kraus.
1882	inaugurated and opened to the public.
1883	first electric light in a cave istalled, powered by a water driven generator.
1885	Franz von Hauer, former director of the k.u.k. Natural History Museum, describes the transformation of limestone into gypsum in the Kraus Cave.
1890	electric light shut down.
1913	cave received Denkmalschutz (cultural monument).
1940s	show cave closed due to lack of visitors.
1964	survey by the Denkmalamt (monument comission).
1964	the fire brigade of Gams starts to manage the cave.

Description

The Kraushöhle was named after its explorer and developer Regierungsrat Franz Kraus. He was the father of cave exploration in Austria, founded the world’s first caving association in Vienna and wrote the standard work on speleology. As early as 1880, he was researching in the cave, which was still called Anerlbauernloch at the time, and was also responsible for the construction of the entrance tunnel in 1881. Just one year later, he opened the cave as a show cave, and in 1883 he had electric lighting installed. In honour of his services to the cave, a memorial was erected in the rock above the cave entrance.

A winding tunnel leads down to a huge main chamber called The Ballroom, with several small and short side passages. It is a karst cave with some dripstones, but it is famous for its gypsum (CaSO₄) speleothems. A nearby sulfuric spring, which was used for bathing at the beginning of the century, is a logic explanation how they were formed. Warm sulfuric water from the same source once filled the cave. The dissolved limestone and the sulfur in the water caused a chemical reaction which produced the gypsum. Scientific research in Lechuguilla and other caves make it very likely, that sulfur loving bacteria produced the gypsum by feeding on the sulfur. This cave is unique in Europe: it is one of only two limestone caves with this kind of sulfuric speleothems, which is also a show cave. The other one is Grotta Grande del Vento, Genga, Italy. Similar caves are rare but can be found all over the world, and the most famous is Lechuguilla Cave. In the last 20 years, a lot of research has been done on this, including the aspect that the limestone was dissolved by the sulphur rising from below. This type of cave is called a hypogene cave.

And another strange thing: this is the very first cave in the world with electric light but most of the time it was visited with carbide lamps. The electric light was installed by Franz Kraus in 1883, and it was powered by a water driven generator, which was built at the brook below. There were actually caves which had electric light earlier, but before the invention of light bulbs, carbon arc lamps were used. The Kraus Cave was the first to use light bulbs, and apparently the technology had not yet been fully mastered. After seven years it had to be shut down, because of technical difficulties and too high costs. The installations were removed completely and until today this cave is guided with handheld lamps. Today the Austrian government does not allow the installation of electric light to protect the fragile gypsum speleothems.

The cave was closed to the public in the 1940s, simply due to the lack of visitors. When the Denkmalamt (Monument Protection Agency) resurveyed the cave in 1964, they realized the specialty of the cave and supported the reopening of the cave. They managed the cave for half a century, always with volunteer work on a non-profit basis. There was not much money to spend, and so the carbide lamps became an institution. They were cheap and reliable, and the light was very good, much better than electric torches. Unfortunately the cave is now part of the new GeoPark concept, and the labor-intensive carbide lamps were replaced by modern LED lamps. The light is better, but the last cave with carbide light is now gone. We recommend you take a headlamp to the tour, so you do not have to carry a hand held lamp. Unfortunately, the GeoPark has also brought some other disadvantages: the number of guided tours has been halved, but the entrance fees have more than doubled in just a few years. In addition, it is now necessary to register in advance via the online booking system.