Jeskyně Na Špičáku

Na Spicaku Cave

Useful Information

photography — Jeskyně Na Špičáku, Czech Republic.

Location:	2 km from Supikovice. (50.2837554, 17.2497716)
Open:	APR to JUN Tue-Sun 9-15:30. JUL to AUG daily 9-16:30. SEP to OCT Tue-Sun 9-15:30. [2025]
Fee:	Adults CZK 160, Children (3-15) CZK 100, Children (0-5) free, Students (-25) CZK 130, Disabled CZK 100, Seniors (65+) CZK 130. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave. Marble.
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=410 m, T=8 °C, H=95 %, A=439 m asl.
Guided tours:	D=30 min, Min=1, Max=25. V=15,000/a [2000] V=17,000/a [2023]
Photography:	allowed, no flash, selfie stick or tripod
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Správa Jeskyně Na Špičáku, Bc. Andrea Švubová, 790 51 Supíkovice 197, Tel: +420-584-423129, Cell: +420-602-295562. 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

1430	first described by Antonius Walle of Cracow in his instructions for gold miners.
1884–1885	developed and opened to the public.
1949	taken over by the Jesenik town council, new entrance tunnel and electric lights.
MAY-1955	reopened to the public.
1970	Na Špičáku National Natural Monument created by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
1994	some parts of the tour made wheelchair accessible.
1997	tour path flooded after heavy rains.
2007	closed for renovation.
2010	reopened.
2021-22	complete renovation of the historic entrance building and ticket office.

Description

This cave is located in Northern Moravia near the spa town of Jesenik and 2 km from Supikovice. It was named after the nearby Spricak Hill. The entrance is in an abandoned marble quarry. The cave was first described in 1430 by Antonius Walle of Cracow in his instructions for gold miners. This is claimed to be the oldest cave reference in Europe.

On the walls are numerous inscriptions in Czech, German and French from the years 1564 to 1613. On the ceiling in the Main Gallery is an interesting painting showing the Calvary. It is assumed that the cave was used as a refuge and for religious rites.

In 1884 the caves were opened to the public by the Sudenten Gebirgs Verein (Sudenten Mountain Club). A cave survey was drawn by J. Ripper. Later the cave fell into disrepair, but in 1949 it was taken over by the Jesenik town council. A new entrance tunnel was made and electric lights installed. It was reopened again in 1955. It is the only cave in Bohemia with access for the disabled as the tourist route is on one level.

The cave consists of a maze of passages with a heart-like cross section, 2 m high and 2-3 m wide. There are plenty of speleothems.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.

The description above is more than 20 years old, but it is still valid. However, there are some updates we have to add. The cave has a long history, it was probably the first cave mentioned in a document in Europe. It was by a gold prospector named Antonius Walle from Krakov. In his book about gold prospecting he mentioned that he visited the cave. There are numerous marble quarries and spoil heaps on the Velký Špičák Hill. There was a natural entrance to the cave, so it was not discovered during quarrying, but the nearby quarry allowed the easily built a second entrance. And the cave was frequently visited, the visitors left their marks on the wall. What we despise as graffiti and vandalism today is here, due to its age, a historic monument. The dates 1564, 1613, 1645, 1678, 1743, and 1763 can be found. This includes not only names and dates, there is also a drawing of two people praying under a cross which gave this passage the name cavalry. Two crossed sabres exist repeatedly in the cave, in places that are more difficult to access. Also, the symbol of mining, the crossed hammer and chisel, can be seen several times. And there are the alchemical symbols of the sun (gold) and crescent (silver).

In the underground is a diapir of granite, plutonic magmatites, which are responsible that the limestone was heated and transformed into marble. This series of big bodies and smaller islets of marble is called Jeseník Karst. There are numerous underground and surface karst phenomena like dolines, ponors, and river sinks. A typical thing for contact karst, where the water vanishes underground as soon as it reaches the limestone, and reappears on the other side at the border to unsoluble rocks. About 100 caves are known in this area. The caves were formed by the water flowing through, especially melting water from glaciers during the ice age and at the end of the last cold age.

This area at the border between the Czech Republic and Poland was traditionally German speaking. It was the Sudetenland, which referred to the South German origin of local settlers. As a result, this cave was originally named Tropfsteinhöhle in Saubsdorf (Cave in Supíkovice). The first systematic exploration of the cave was thus carried out by the Mährisch-Schlesische Sudetengebirgsverein e.V. (MSSGV) in the early 1880s. This is a German mountaineering and nature protection association which exists until today. They employed the Brünn (Brno) geologist Alexandr Makowsky, and in 1885 the military topographer Johan Ripper, who was son-in-law of the founder of the Jeseníky spa, V. Priessnitz. The local history researcher Adolf Kettner from Freiwaldau (Frývaldov) first mentioned the historical inscriptions in 1886. In 1884 the MSSGV developed the cave as a show cave and opened it to the public in 1885. This first development was rather primitive, there were trails, and the visitors used carbide lamps provided by the guides. The number of visitors was low, probably because the entrance fee was quite steep. As a result, it was not profitable, and the club was not very happy about it. Nevertheless, it was operated until World War II. During the war it was closed to the public, but it was used as an air raid shelter, by residents as well as German soldiers. Members of the Wehrwolf organization were hiding in the cave until 1947.

After the war the political situation changed fundamentally, in 1949 the abandoned cave was taken over by the municipality Jeseník. They transferred it to the governmental organization Turista-Severomoravský kras (Turista-North Moravian Karst). They modernized the cave 1954–1955, added electric light and with the second entrance made the tour a through-trip. Today the cave is like most show caves in the country operated by the Správa jeskyní České republiky. They have renovated the cave regularly, and so it is actually offering tours for peopl in whellchairs, which is quite exceptional. They also renovated the original entrance building with its wooden boxwork. Our reviewer unfortunately visited the cave during one of those renovations, the cave was closed, and we have only pictures of the outside.