Jaskyna Domica

The beautiful Domica Cave is situated on the southern fringe of the Skalica plateau, at an altitude of 330 m asl. It is not far from the town of Plesivec and quite close to the Hungarian border. The Old Domica Cave has been long known but new passages were discovered by Jan Maijko in 1926. In 1929, it was connected to the Certova Diera Cave and in 1932 Dr Herbert Kessler, whilst exploring Baradla-barlang Aggtelek lejárat in Hungary, found the connection to Domica Cave, resulting in a system over 21 km in length, most of which is now open to the public. However, the subterranean border between the two countries is securely protected by a substantial iron gate!

Domica is a typical river cave with oval passages on three levels. The lower levels contain two rivers the Domica and the Styx. The latter river still flows through the cave and continues on into Hungary. The River Styx is also part of the tourist route. The river provides an experience which will make a lasting impression on the visitor, a memorable 140 m long boat ride. Catastrophic floods inundated the cave in June 1954. Other floods occurred in 1955, 1964, 1977 and 1981.

The middle level has been opened up to tourists since 1932. Wide concrete pathways weave in and out of the amazing speleothems: The Majko Dome with its sinter basins; The Japanese tea-house, an amazing chamber with stalactite columns, palettes and a stalagmite floor, supported by another range of stalactite columns; but the highlight of the cave has to be the Dome of the India Pagodas, a 20 m high chamber packet with enormous columns and beehive shaped formations.

The cave is a haven for both plant and animal life and is home to the largest colony in Slovakia of Rhinolophus euryale or the Horseshoe Bat. It is reputed to contain over 1000 bats. This is only one of 11 species of bat found in the cave.

Domica Cave is a site of great archaeological significance. Finds, including a fine flint arrrowhead, have been dated to the Old Stone Age or Szeletien Period, about 35,000 BC. Charcoal drawings found in the depths of the cave indicate some spiritual or ritual activities took place there. In the Neolithic or New Stone Age the cave was inhabited by early man. There have been rich finds from the Bükk (Bukovohorská) culture, about 6400 to 6100 BC, including pottery, bones and remnants of a circular building. The finds also included the many bones of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, suggesting that early man was not the only inhabitant of this cave, but the greatest find is a cooking pot covered in stalagmite, forever frozen in time.

This section of the Slovak / Hungarian border is one of the few areas where customs regulations have been relaxed and, after visiting Domica, it is possible to cross the border with the minimum of fuss and visit the Baradla-barlang Aggtelek lejárat in Hungary.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission. Date of visit Sept 1973.