Barbarossa Cave

Barbarossa Cave

The Barbarossa Cave is an anhydrite cave (gypsum cave) in the Kyffhäuser Hills near Rottleben in the east German state of Thuringia. It is a cave with large caverns, grottos and lakes. The anhydrite has formed gypsum on the surface due to the air moisture in the cave and, as a result, has increased in volume. The resulting layers of gypsum gradually separate from the underlying rock and hang like wallpaper from the walls and ceilings of the caverns.

Details

Length
1100 m
Geology
Anhydrite (Werra Formation)endogenous stratigraphic boundary cave (Schlotte Wimmelburger Type)
Website
[http://www.barbarossahoehle.de/ www.barbarossahoehle.de]
Features
* Gipslappen
Lighting
electric (since 1895)
Location
Kyffhäuser, Germany
Visitors
70,000 (2011)
Discovery
1865
Show Cave
1866
Other Name
Barbarossahöhle
Photo Caption
Flakes of gypsum in the Barbarossa Cave (2005)
Show Cave Length
600 m