Mordloch

Useful Information

Location:	Oberen Roggenmühle, Eybach. From Geislingen towards Böhmenkirch, through Eybach, at the Obere Roggenmühle turn left towards Treffelshausen, after 1.2 km turn left. Car park. (48.6642291, 9.8940560)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave River Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=4,576 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Herbert Jantschke (1989): Das Mordloch (7325/01) im Roggental bei Eybach und seine Mineralbildungen, Laichinger Höhlenfreund, 24 (2) : 71-84 (8 Abb.) Thomas Rathgeber (1990): Die Berichterstattung über die Rettungsaktion im Mordloch von 1977 und die jahrelangen Nachwirkungen in der Presse, Beitr. Höhlen- u. Karstkde. SW-Deutschland, 34: 61-86, 2 Abb. Stuttgart 1990 Manfred Bomm (2005): Mordloch, Gmeiner, 373 Seiten, 12,5 x 20,5 cm, Paperback, ISBN 978-3-89977-646-1. online
Address:	Schwäbische Alb Tourismusverband e.V., Bismarckstraße 21, 72574 Bad Urach, Tel: +49-7125-93930–0. info@schwaebischealb.de
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

	poacher kills the ranger of castle Eybach and hides the corps in the cave.
1800	first description published.
1883	The two Roggenmüller have the mouth of the spring enlarged to make better use of the water flowing out.
11-JUL-1959	First siphon dived for the first time by Manfred Keller with compressed air diving equipment.
1959-1965	Exploration by the Eschenbach/Göppingen speleological group.
1965	Jochen Hasenmayer and Alexander Wunsch dive through several sumps.
04-FEB-1977 to 07-FEB-1977	Four scuba divers trapped in the cave, cave becomes nationally known due to the dramatic rescue operation.
1986	Cave research groups from Stuttgart, Kirchheim and Ostalb explore several side passages.

Description

The Mordloch (murder hole) got its name from a legendary murder. The following local legend tells of this:

Several hundred years ago, a poacher murdered the Eybach castle forester in the night, who had caught him poaching. He hid the body in this cave. But the forester's dog missed his master, searched for him and found him there. As a result, the Mordloch was given its name.

The murderer later fell from the Ravenstein cliff and was fatally injured. He confessed his crime on his deathbed.

Local legend.

The Mordloch is a distinctive passage cave, a horizontal cave that essentially consists of two passages. They separate not far behind the entrance in the Betahalle (beta hall). The passages follow the main cracks in the rock, alternately north-south and east-west. Throughout the cave there are only a few small-scale widenings, only the Gammahalle (gamma chamber), where the two main passages meet, has somewhat larger dimensions. Lenticular corrosion profiles and rectangular collapse profiles are typical.

The Mordloch is a river cave, and most of the cave carries water all year round. Only the entrance area about 40 m up to the siphon falls dry in drier seasons. This is also the only part of the cave that can be entered safely during these dry periods. The rest of the cave is reserved exclusively for experienced cavers. And that is well over four kilometers, which for a long time made the cave the third longest in the Swabian Alb. In the meantime, however, the parts of the Blauhöhle cave system in particular have surpassed it.

In 1977, four scuba divers found out that the water in the Mordloch is not to be trifled with when they were trapped in the cave by high water. Narrow passages in the cave dam up the water and cause the water in the cave to rise rapidly when the snow melts and after heavy rain. Fortunately, those trapped were able to escape into the Gammahalle, which leads steeply upwards from the Betahalle. This part of the cave was not flooded, so the trapped people were at least saved from drowning.

We would therefore like to warn you once again about the dangers of the Mordloch. Only the first few meters up to the first siphon are safe to enter, even if you need rubber boots when the river rises. The rest of the cave is only for experienced cavers. Even diving through the first siphon without the appropriate equipment and training is highly dangerous.

So why have we listed this cave at all? Quite simply: it is historically, culturally and touristically relevant. It has been featured in books and, although only 40 meters are accessible, it is quite impressive over this short distance. In spring you should bring rubber boots, but it is better to visit in summer or fall. A good lamp is also important, especially if you want to take a closer look at the scallops, stalactites and passage profiles Due to the river, the cave is almost without clay, and you should not get dirty.