Csatárka Cave

Csatárka Cave is located in Budapest's II district, within the Danube–Ipoly National Park. The protected cave, which opens at the foot of the Balogh Ádám rock on Ferenc Hill, was formed in dolomite.

Description

The largest part of the cave, situated in the main dolomite, is of artificial origin. The almost horizontal cave is 50 m long.

In 1976 the cave was first called Csatárka Cave in the literature. In the literature the cave also appears as Balogh Ádám Street Cave (Leél-Őssy 1995), Balogh Cave (Leél-Őssy 1957), Balogh rock cave (Kordos 1984), artificial cavity of Balogh rock (Bertalan 1976), Balog street cave (Kraus 1984), Vadkerti rock cavity (Leél-Őssy 1995) and Vadkerti rock cavity (Bertalan 1976).

Research history

The 1957 Geographical Bulletin mentions that one of the significant artificial cavities of the Buda Hills is the Balogh Cave on Ferenc Hill. The 1958 publication titled *Budapest’s Natural Picture* states that, according to Sándor Leél-Őssy, the artificial caves of the Buda Hills include, for example, the Balogh rock cave (II district). The 1959 book *Budapest’s Natural Geography* notes that the Balogh Cave on Ferenc Hill is an artificial cavity. The 1964 book *Geological Excursions Around Budapest* mentions that the artificial caves and cavities of the Buda Hills include the Balogh rock cave. The 1966 *Buda Hills Guidebook* writes that descending Balogh Ádám Street, where there are no houses on the left, opposite house number 18 a small rocky peak with interesting coloration rises, on the side of which there are several cavities.

The cave, which first appeared in 1973, is described in a separate entry in the Budapest encyclopedia. The publication mentions that the Balogh Cave is located on Ferenc Hill. Artificial small cavity. According to the manuscript completed in 1976 and written by Károly Bertalan, the Csatárka Cave, also known as the artificial cavity of Balogh Rock and Vadkerti rock cavity, is located in the Buda Hills, District II of Budapest. It is situated under point 274 of Csatárka (Vérhalom), in Vadkert, opposite the gate of the house at 20 Balogh Ádám Street. The artificial cavity is 30–40 m long and 2–3 m high. The part of the manuscript concerning the cave was written based on four literary works.

The 1983 MKBT Report states that in the dolomite dust of the Balogh Ádám Street nature reserve (Kis-szikla) there is a cavity system about 10–20 m long, carved out during the extraction of dolomite dust. The 1984 MKBT Report mentions that Sándor Kraus prepared in 1984 the map of the Balogh Street Cave (Csatárka Cave) located in the cave cadastral area 4762 and examined the tectonics of the cave’s rock block.

In the nationwide cave list of the book *Magyarország barlangjai* published in 1984, the cave located in the Buda Hills appears under the name Csatárka-cave with the variants Vadkerti rock chamber and Balogh rock-cave. Related to the list, the geographical location of the caves of the Danube Hills is shown on a 1:500 000 scale map, indicating the cave’s geographical position. In the Karst and Cave Research of 1981–1995 it is written that in the Ferenc-hegy line the large caves include Ferenc-hegy-cave and Szemlő-hegy-cave, while the smaller ones are represented by the caves of Zsindely Street and smaller cave cavities (e.g., Balogh rocks). The publication shows the uncovered geological map of the Ferenc-hegy zone with the positions of the examined cave cavities. On the map the geographical location of the Balogh rocks cavities can be observed.

The 1995 Geological Gazette mentions that the Balogh Ádám Street-cave (Csatárka-cave, Vadkerti rock chamber), long known, is located in the Balogh Ádám rock, composed of primary dolomite, within the nature reserve. It is at least partially an artificial cavity. The almost horizontal cave is 25 m long. Due to its morphological features it is probably largely of artificial origin. The study was accompanied by a site plan of the caves of Rózsadomb and its surroundings, on which the geographical location of the Balogh Ádám Street-cave can be observed. The 2000 issue of *Népszabadság* notes that on the lower part of the Balogh Ádám rock, multi-chambered spherical niches also testify to former karst activity. A black‑and‑white photograph showing the rock was published in the journal.

On March 26, 2005, Ádám Kovács and Jenő Kovács surveyed the cave, and then Richárd Kovács, using the survey, prepared the cave's plan map and cross‑section map. According to the survey, the cave is 50 m long, 3 m deep and 2 m high. The 2008 Weekly Answer mentions that for years it has not been possible to clear the caves used as a sleeping place by the Balogh Ádám rock. A colour photograph published in the journal shows the entrance of Csatárka Cave. According to Klára Groma’s 2011 manuscript, Csatárka Cave, located in Budapest District II on the plot with cadastral number 12456/33 and cadastral number 4762-18, is 50 m long, has a vertical extent of 5 m, is 3 m deep and 2 m high.