Eisriesenwelt–The World’s Largest Ice Cave
The Eisriesenwelt (German for "World of the Ice Giants") is a
natural limestone ice cave located in Werfen, Austria, about 40 km south
of Salzburg. It is the largest ice cave in the world extending more
than 42km.
Eisriesenwelt Cave was created by the Salzach river
as it flowed through the mountain eroding passageways nearly 100 million
years ago. Over the course of thousands of years cracks and crevices in
the limestone became more developed as water eroded the rocks away. In
winter, when the air inside the mountain is warmer than outside, cold
air streams into the mountain and reduces the temperature of the lower
areas of the caves to below freezing point. In spring the water from
melting snow seeps through the cracks in the rock and when it reaches
the colder lower areas of the caves it freezes and turns slowly into the
wonderful ice formations visible inside the caves.
Although the
cave has a length of 42 km, only the first kilometer, the area that
tourists are allowed to visit, is covered in ice. The rest of the cave
is formed of limestone. Since the entrance to the caves is open
year-round, chilly winter winds blow into the cave and freeze the snow
inside. In summer, a cold wind from inside the cave blows toward the
entrance and prevents the formations from melting.
Eisriesenwelt was discovered by Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, in 1879. Before his discovery, the cave was known only to locals, who, believing that it was an entrance to Hell, refused to explore it. One year later he published a detailed report of his discovery in a mountaineering magazine, but the caves then slipped back into obscurity.
Alexander
von Mörk, a speleologist from Salzburg, was one of the few people who
remembered Posselt's discovery. He led several expeditions into the
caves beginning in 1912, which were soon followed by other explorers. In
1920, a cabin for the explorers, Forscherhütte, was built and the first
routes up the mountain were established. Tourists began to arrive soon
after, attracted by the cave's sudden popularity. Later another cabin,
the Dr. Oedl House, and paths from Werfen and Tänneck were constructed.
Today the Eisriesenwelt cave is visited by around 200,000 tourists every year.
