Wildenmannlisloch

Wildmannlisloch - Höhle am Selunerruck

Useful Information

Location:	9656 Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann. A13/E43 exit 7 Haag to Gams 3.7 km, 16 towards Wattwil/Wildhaus 17 km, turn left 230 m. At the northern slopes of Mt Seluns, one of the seven Churfirsten. From Starkenbach take the Selunbahn (cable car), then 10 minutes walk to the cave. Ascend by foot 2.5 h. (47.1676076, 9.2553516)
Open:	No restrictions. Selunbahn: Mid-JUN to AUG Mon-Sat 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, Sun 7-19. SEP to OCT daily 9, 11, 13, 15, 16:30. [2024]
Fee:	free. Selunbahn: One Way: Adults CHF 14, Children (6-16) CHF 7, Children (0.5) free, Dogs CHF 7. Return Ticket: Adults CHF 26, Children (6-16) CHF 12, Children (0.5) free, Dogs CHF 12. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=192.1 m, VR=2.4 m, A=1,628 m asl.
Guided tours:	n/a
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Emil Bächler (1934): Das Wildenmannlisloch Am Selun Philip G. Chase (1987): The Cult of the Cave Bear Expedition Magazine 29, no. 2 (July, 1987) online
Address:	Selunbahn, Alpkorporation Selun, Tel: +41-79-537-77-20.
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

1703	first written account by the priest Johann Heinrich Scherrer from Alt St. Johann.
1819	first use of the name Wildenmannlisloch.
15-JUL-1906	first exploration by Emil Bächler.
1911	simple transport cable car for the Selun Alp built.
01-OCT-1923	start of extensive excavations by Emil Bächler and Alfred Ziegler.
1927	excavations completed, a total of 218 excavation days.

Description

photography — Cave Survey, Wildenmannlisloch, St. Gallen, Switzerland. Public Domain.

The Wildenmannlisloch (Hole of the Wild Men) is a very easy small horizontal cave on the mountain range called the Churfirsten. Located on the northern slopes of Mount Seluns, it is reached from the Seluns Alpe. The cave is not very impressive from the speleological view, but it is an important excavation site. The cave is known for a very long time. It was used by ancient man for millennia, it was often visited or at least known during history. And even in the 19th century it was the home of a man later known as Johannes Seluner.

The first written mention was made by the priest Pfarrer Johann Heinrich Scherrer from Alt St. Johann in 1703. In his book Beschreibung der Toggenburgischen Gebirge (Description of the Mountains of Toggenburg) he tells about the sixth of the Churfirsten, the Luner- or Selunerruck, which has a hole below its peak.

Der sechste ist der Luner- oder Selunerruck... unter diesem Lunerruck wird ein Loch gefunden, durch welches man ein halb Viertelstund mit einer Latern in den Berg hineingehet.
The sixth is the Lunerruck or Selunerruck... A hole is found under this Lunerruck, through which one goes half a quarter of an hour into the mountain with a lantern.
Johann Heinrich Scherrer (1703)

But he did not mention a name, the name Wildenmannlisloch appeared first in the booklet Zwinglis Geburtsort (Zwinglis Birthplace) by the priest Pfarrer J. Fr. Franz.

An dem Fusse des Selunerrucks befindet sich eine grosse Höhle, das "Wildenmannlisloch" genannt, die anfangs sehr weit und hoch ist, so dass man mit Pferden und Wagen hineinfahren könnte, dass wieder verenget und wieder erweitert und in solchen Abwechslungen und verschiedenen Krümmungen sich eine Viertelstunde lang hinziehet, bis man ihr Ende erreicht.
At the foot of the Selunerruck there is a large cave, called the "Wildenmannlisloch", which is very wide and high at the beginning, so that one could drive into it with horses and carts, that narrows again and widens again and in such alternations and various curves stretches for a quarter of an hour until one reaches its end.
Johann Franz Friedrich (1819): Zwinglis Geburtsort. Ein Beytrag zur reformatorischen Jubelfeyer 1819, Zürich 1819.

It is mentioned in numerous legends, here are three which are from books about local legends. The legends tell about the namesake "Wilde Männli" (Wild Men) or "Wilde Wibli" (Wild Women), the diminuitive is interpreted, that they were very small, probably about 60 cm high.

Das Wildenmannlisloch führt etwa 170 Meter in den Berg hinein; weiter vorwärts kann man nicht wegen der Enge der Öffnung. Da wohnten ehedem die wilden Männlein; diese halfen den Alpknechten und Talbewohnern oft arbeiten, waren dienstfertig und kamen hie und da ins Tal. Ein Senn stellte diesen Leutchen aus Dankbarkeit einmal ein Essen vor; ein anderer wollte ihnen Kleider geben; von da an sah man die Männchen nicht mehr.
The Wildenmannlisloch leads about 170 metres into the mountain; you can't go any further because of the narrowness of the opening. This is where the little wild men used to live; they often helped the alpine servants and valley dwellers with their work, were willing to serve and came down into the valley here and there. One dairyman once offered them a meal out of gratitude; another wanted to give them clothes; from then on the little men were no longer seen.
Niklaus Senn (1869): Tagebuch der Familie Schümi im Unterwasser bei St. Johann

Auf der Tüfelisalp an den Kurfirsten (alter Name für Breitenalp oder Selunalp) befindet sich eine tiefe Höhle. Da hauste seinerzeit ein kleines Bergvölklein, von dem jede Person kaum zwei Fuss hoch war. Dieses hatte alle verborgenen Schätze der Berge in seiner Gewalt, erzeigte sich aber den Hirten und übrigen Bewohner der Umgebung freundlich und dienstbar, und immer war etwa ein Männchen bereit, das Vieh auf der Alp zu hüten, ohne dafür einen Lohn zu verlangen.
On the Tüfelisalp on the Kurfirsten (old name for Breitenalp or Selunalp) there is a deep cave. In those days, a small mountain tribe lived there, each person barely two feet tall. They had all the hidden treasures of the mountains under their control, but were friendly and helpful to the shepherds and other inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and there was always a male willing to herd the cattle on the alp without asking for a wage.
J. Natsch

Auf der östlichen Seite des Seluner-Rucks liegt eine Höhle, das Wildenmannlisloch. Ihr Tor ist so gross, dass man mit Ross und Wagen hineinfahren kann. Sie führt anderthalb Stunden tief in den Berg hinein, und die Gänge drinnen sind so weit, dass mehrere Mann nebeneinander aufrecht gehen können. Vorne haben die Wildmännchen Tische und Bänke ausgehauen, eine Viertelstunde weiter innen liegt ein kleiner See, rings von Felsbänken eingefasst, noch weiter hinten kommen die Wohnungen. Einst holten sie die Hebamme von Starkenbach, die einem Wildweiblein beistehen musste. Als Lohn erhielt sie eine ganze Schürze voll Erdbrocken. Auf dem weiten Weg aus der Höhle heraus gab sie jedoch auf das wertvolle Geschenk nicht acht; als sie ans Tageslicht kam und den letzten Brocken besah, war es reines Gold.
On the eastern side of the Seluner Ruck is a cave, the Wildenmannlisloch. Its gate is so large that you can drive in with horse and cart. It leads one and a half hours deep into the mountain, and the passages inside are so wide that several men can walk upright side by side. The wild men have hewn out tables and benches at the front, a quarter of an hour further in is a small lake surrounded by rocky banks, and even further back are the dwellings. Once they fetched the midwife from Starkenbach, who had to assist a wild woman. As a reward, she received a whole apron full of lumps of earth. On the long way out of the cave, however, she did not pay attention to the valuable gift; when she came to daylight and looked at the last lump, it was pure gold.
Rochholz: Schweizersagen

The following story is not a legend, but nevertheless, much of this story seems to be invented. In the summer of 1844, the herdsmen on the Selun Alp noticed that some cows had been milked by a stranger. They were angered and set up guards, finally one of the herdsmen managed to spot the milk thief. He saw a shadow coming from the Wildenmannlisloch, but was not able to determine if it was a human or an animal. It crept up to a cow and began to suck the milk from the teats, then it returned to the cave. The next morning at the same time, several herdsmen hid behind stones, jumped up and caught the creature. It was undoubtedly a human, completely naked and covered in long hair all over its body. He was overwhelmed and taken to the poorhouse in Alt St. Johann. There they tried to put clothes on him, but he tore them up in a rage. But he finally calmed down and was easy to keep. He was estimated to be around 16 years old, made only animal sounds and never learnt to speak for the rest of his life. He was named Johannes Seluner, as he was found at Mount Seluns, and Saint Johannes was the patron saint of the village. He lived the rest of his life, 54 years, in the poorhouse in Nesslau, and was healthy until shortly before his death on 20-OCT-1898. It was never found out where he came from, but his behaviour hinted that he was abandoned in the Wildenmannlisloch and lived in the cave for several years. So he never learned to speak, spent most of his time outdoors, avoided human company, ate alone in his room, and when he was satisfied, he purred.

But the story continues, in 1926 he was dug up and his bones examined by Zurich anthropology professor Otto Schlaginhaufen. They tried to determine whether he might have Neanderthal characteristics. In accordance with the eugenic considerations of the time, the aim was to prove a connection between the mental and physical impairment and characteristics of Neanderthals or non-European peoples. The result was negative, there were no Neanderthal relations visible, although the story had sounded so good. His extremely thin biography always allowed people with different opinions to interpret it to fit their own theory. So he was declared a feral child, like Mowgli, a mystical wild man or woodwose, but also a disabled person with mental disability. It's quite hard to determine which parts of the story are actually true. Many details, like that he lived for years in the cave, that he was captured drinking milk from a cow, that he recognized someone in a suit and was thus probably of noble origin, and even the stories that he was very strong and constantly tearing his clothes are probably all invented. Not invented are the stories of stinginess and the joy of the community when he was deported to another poorhouse and thus no longer caused costs.

The history of the Wildenmannlisloch is connected with Emil Bächler, a famous local archaeologist and naturalist. Emil Bächler first visited the Wildkirchli in 1903 and 1904, and found a huge number of cave bear bones and stone tools. He realized that the tools were made of autochthonous stones, which are not found in the Alpstein, they must have been carried up there by humans. A first dating was the third interglacial period (Riss-Würm interglacial period), of course the mountains were covered by glaciers during the cold ages, and accessible only the warm ages.

In the first excavation at the Wildenmannlisloch on 15-JUL-1906, Emil Bächler dug a 1.3 m deep ditch which revealed teeth and bones of cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). But it took more than twenty years, until 01-OCT-1923, to start extensive excavations at the cave. Emil Bächler and Alfred Ziegler, and several helprs were financed by the Natural History Museum and the Citizens' Council of St. Gallen as well as the Toggenburg section of the Swiss Alpine Club. They excavated the cave over five successive years, always in the autumn. During 218 excavation days, they discovered the remains of 50 cave bears. one to eight-year-old. But unlike other bear caves, they discovered the skulls very far inside the cave, which they interpreted as human influence, probably cult actions. Emil Bächler thought they were hunters and gatherers specializing in bear hunting. They kept their prey in the cave, made tools and cult objects from the bones and followed a bear cult. The skulls of the bears were offered in the furthest part of the cave as a sacrifice of thanksgiving and atonement.

They also discovered the bones of other mammals like cave lion, chamois, marmot, snow rabbit (Lepus timidus), wolf, and fox, but only in much lesser numbers. And they found artifacts, stone tools made of green, oily quartzite which is not found in this area. Again, ancient man must have brought these tools from far away. But no human bones were found, which is interpreted that the cave was used as a hunting station, but not for burials. Findings from the cave are exhibited in the Toggenburger Museum in Lichtensteig.

In 1955, the findings were reevaluated by Elisabeth Schmidt. The result is, that the Wildenmannlisloch was visited repeatedly by cave bears which hibernated here since around 90,000 years ago. Weak animals died during the long and harsh winter. This explains why the majority of bones found were those of old or young cave bears. From around 40,000 to 30,000 years ago, which means Neanderthals, the cave was also visited by hunters and gatherers during summer. According to current research, it is no longer possible to speak of a bear hunting culture or a bear hunting cult. The processing of the bear bones is more likely a result of erosion by water. Most likely, the cave was visited alternatively by cave bears and Neanderthals. In other words, when the Neanderthals stayed at the cave, it was avoided by the bears, and vice versa.

The cave is located high on the mountain side. If you are a mountaineer, you may just walk there, make a nice day trip and visit the cave. If you are less sportive, you may use the Selunbahn, a historic cable car, which is itself a sight. The historic cable car was used to transport stuff to and from the Alp, the high mountain pastures. It is called a Kastenbahn mit 2 Kisten in German, a Kasten is a huge box, and actually the two cars are rectangular wooden boxes, quite unlike modern cable cars. Until today, it is owned and operated by the Alpkorporation Selun (Selun High Pasture Corporation), which is an association of the farmers who graze cows on the high pastures. It was built im 1911 by the 'Gmür-Gali' (Galus Scherrer, Alpmeister) from Stein, and was used by Emil Bächler during his excavations in the Wildenmannlisloch. The site is a pasture, not a skiing area. During winter and spring there is snow, and the only way to reach the cave is by ski. The best time to visit the cave is during summer and early autumn, which is the same time the cable car is operational. The lower station is located in Alt St. Johann at Highway 16.

Today there is an easy gravel trail from the cable car to the cave entrance. It is signposted and there is an educational sign at the entrance. As the sediments were removed, it's possible to walk through the cave mostly upright. In contrary to the old legends, the cave was so low before the excavations, it was visited stooping or even crawling.