Domini Cave

Domini Cave is a cave located in Pomáz in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in the Holdvilág trench.

Description

It is situated about 200 metres above the Domini spring of the Holdvilág trench, on the right side of the valley. Here the valley side is steep, unstable and covered with dense vegetation, trees, shrubs and climbing plants, so the spacious entrance of the cave is not visible from the valley floor, only from the opposite side of the valley.

Next to the rockfall one can climb to the edge of the valley, then by moving over the cave and descending the steep, fissured and cracked andesite rock to the cave. The cave’s mouth is 6 metres wide, 3.5 metres high and looks to the left above the roughly 6‑metre‑high vertical drop. The mouth is followed by a bright, sun‑lit hall of similar section extending 6 metres inward. In this hall are the already mentioned many pieces of trash and graffiti on the walls. From the hall the further part is divided by the fallen massive stone blocks into a straight left‑hand passage and a curved right‑hand passage. The floor of both interior passages is composed of loose rock debris. The total length of the cave is 15.9 metres, and its average height is 2.8 metres.

Reaching the entrance requires increased caution, and it is recommended to approach with rope protection.

A cavity formed by a fissure in the rock with opening and collapse. The missing stone blocks in the hall were probably removed earlier by people throwing them out.

Research history

A long‑known cavity, as indicated by the many pieces of trash inside and the graffiti sprayed on its walls. The cave only entered the speleologists’ field of view in 1991, after Kornél Budai and György Ézsiás examined it.

In the manuscript titled *Lajstroma of the non-karst caves of Hungary* written by István Eszterhás and produced in 1993, it is stated that the Domini Cave is located in Pomáz, in the Visegrád Mountains, in the 4900 cave‑survey area. The cave formed in andesite is 10 m long and 2 m high. The compilation lists the 520 objects (478 caves and 42 artificial cavities) in Hungary that are formed in non‑karst rock and that became known by the end of 1993. In Hungary, 178 caves or artificially created cavities called caves have formed, having been created in andesite. In the Visegrád Mountains, 33 caves have arisen in non‑karst rock.

According to the publication *Lychnis. Sections on the research of caves formed in volcanic rocks* published in 1994, among the caves in Hungary that were formed in volcanic rock, based on the summer 1994 condition, the Domini Cave (Pomáz) ranks as the 43rd longest. The cave formed in andesite is 10 m long and 2 m high. Hungary has 489 caves in non‑karst rock and the Visegrád Mountains have 33 caves in non‑karst rock. Hungary has 178 caves formed in andesite. In 1997, they were examined in detail by István Eszterhás and colleagues.

On November 12, 2001, the manuscript titled *Bibliography of the Karst Caves of Hungary* includes the Domini Cave in its cave name index. The index lists 5 literary works that deal with the cave. Items 364 and 366 do not mention it, items 363 and 365 do mention it. In the study published in the 2014 *Karst Development*, it is stated that the 12th longest cave of the Visegrád Mountains is the Domini Cave, 15.9 m long and 3.5 m high. Trash occurs in the cave suitable for bivouacking. The Domini Cave, located in Pomáz, is one of the 101 caves of the Visegrád Mountains. In the publication, the attached figure showing the location of caves longer than 10 m in the Visegrád Mountains displays the cave’s geographical position. The site plan was edited by István Eszterhás.