Gußmannhöhle

Gußmann's Cave

Useful Information

Location:	40 km northwest of Ulm. From Ulm 39 km on the B28, then 7 km B465 to turnoff Schopfloch. From A8 exit Kirchheim/Teck ~15 km B465 to turnoff Schopfloch. Through Schopfloch, at the city limits turn left to Krebsstein. Parking at the road Schopfloch-Krebsstein, 15 min walk to the caves. (74,Kd57)
Open:	MAY to OCT Sat 13-16, Sun, Hol 10-16, closed on days with bad weather. Additional times after appointment. [2014]
Fee:	Adults EUR 3.50, Children (4-16) EUR 1.50. Groups (15+): Adults EUR 2.30, Children (4-16) EUR 1.30. Price includes visit to both caves. [2014]
Classification:	Karst Cave horizontal cave, Malm
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	L=91 m, A=680 m asl
Guided tours:	L=55 m, D=15 min.
Photography:	Allowed
Accessibility:	Not accessible, steep trails and many stairs.
Bibliography:	Wilfried Rosendahl, Matthias Lopez Correa, Christoph Gruner, Gerd Polikeit (1999): Die Gutenberger Höhlen, Grabenstetter höhlenkundliche Hefte, Nr. 2, ARGE HuK Grabenstetten, Grabenstetten.
Address:	Ortschaftsverwaltung Gutenberg, Hauptstraße 14, 73252 Lenningen-Gutenberg, Tel: +49-7026-7822 (Mon 15-17, Tue-Fri 9-12). 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

1890	discovered by Karl Gußmann.
1890 and 1891	excavations by Karl Gußmann.
MAY-1891	opened to the public
1891	first electric lighting was stopped after a few weeks because of technical problems.
1922	electric light.
2006	renovation of electric light and trails.
2007	cave closed because of dangerous rockfall.
2008	reopened after cliff face was stabilized.

Description

This cave was named after Karl Gußmann, a founding member and the first chairman of the Schwäbischer Höhlenverein (Swabian Cave Club). He was the priest of the nearby village Gutenberg and one of the first cave explorers on the Swabian Jura. But his interests were mainly archaeology and palaeontology.

During excavations in the nearby Showcave Gutenberger Höhle he discovered this new cave about 200 m away. In the same year and the following year he made excavations in this cave and found mammoth teeth.

The cave has little speleothems, but prior to the development it had some spots with nice calcite crystals. Those minerals are exhibited in the Heimatmuseum at Kirchheim unter Teck.

The cave was restored some years ago with refurbished electric light. Then it was discovered, that there are loose rocks on the cliff above, and so the cave was closed because of the danger of rockfall. The cliff is not unstable, so it was fixed and the cave was reopened in 2008.