Gyenesdiási Vadlány Hole

The Gyenesdiási Vadlány is one of the dolomite caves located in the Balaton Uplands National Park. It is one of the four Vadlány caves in Hungary. The other three are the Rezi Vadlány, the Vadlány, and the Vállusi Vadlány, which are also situated around Lake Balaton. The cave is described in tourist guidebooks.

Description

At the edge of Gyenesdiás, on the southern edge of the heavily protected area of Tücsök Hill, its entrance is in a pine forest. It can be approached from Gyenesdiás via the tourist trail marked with a yellow stripe. From the marked tourist trail one can reach the entrance on a path indicated by a sign. The cave’s geographic location is marked on the Keszthely Hills tourist maps with a cave symbol and the cave’s name.

A water‑carved (abrasion) cave, later partially modified by deflation as well as various types of insolation spalling and other forms of dissolution, and then artificially further enlarged. Essentially it consists of a single larger chamber. It was formed in Upper Triassic dolomite. The cave, reachable by an easy forest walk, can be visited freely in ordinary street clothing.

It cannot be determined after whom (which wild maiden) it was named. In literature it occurs as Diási Vadlánylik (Bertalan 1976), Gyenesdiási Vadlán-lik (Mészáros 1983), Gyenesdiási Vadlánlik (Bertalan 1976), gyenesdiási Vadlán-lik (Kordos 1984), Vadlán-lik (Eszterhás 1984), Vadlánlik (Szeghalmy 1937), vadlánlik (Margittay 1942), vadlán-lik (Pápa 1943), Vadlánlik-barlang (Szeghalmy 1937), Vadlány-barlang (Pápa 1943), Vadlány-lik (Eszterhás 1984), Vadlány-lyuk (Hazslinszky 1999), Vadleány-barlang (Cholnoky 1914), Vadleánybarlang (Földváry 1934), Vadleány barlang (Margittay 1942), Vadleány barlangja (Lóczy 1913), Vadleány-lik (Bertalan, Schőnviszky 1973–1974), Vadleány lika (Jankó 1902), Vadleánylika (Dornyay 1939) and Vadleány lyuka (Pesty 1888).

Research History

In Frigyes Pesty's 1888 book the Vadleány lyuka is mentioned, which is a hollow located on the border of the Gyenes-Diás village. In János Jankó's 1902 publication the name Vadleány lika appears among the most interesting place names of the Balaton area still to be researched. The publication mentions the Vadleány lika hollow, which is situated in Gyenesdiás, and that it is in Pontus limestone at the Vadleány lika found on Meszesgyörök. In Lajos Lóczy's 1913 work a black‑white photograph can be seen, showing the Vadleány cave on Diás, above the Diás‑Vonyarc Saint Helena chapel, at about 200 m above sea level. The caption states that it was formed in dolomite breccia Pannonian‑Pontus age side gravel.

In the 1914 volume of Balaton the photograph published in 1913 was printed. According to the caption the photograph shows the Vadleány cave located in Gyenesdiás and it was taken by Lóczy Lajos. According to the 1928 Geographical Communications the boundary of the second abrasion terrace is marked at about 200 m above sea level by the layered, dolomite breccia, coastal formations, showing that at such an altitude the products of erosion had already reached standing water. The correctness of the consideration is proven by the dolomite breccia of the Gyenes overlying a Pannonian abrasion cave (Vadleány cave) which is at 200 m above sea level. The study shows the photograph made by Lóczy Lajos. The caption states the Vadleány Pannonian abrasion cave.

From a study in the 1932 volume of Turisták Lapja it can be learned that from the national road running along the shore of Balaton one can ascend to high viewpoints, e.g. the diás Vadleány cave (Vadlászlik). One should seek the Vadleány cave rising above the Havas Boldogasszony chapel of diás because of its interesting geological structure, flora and beautiful view. The 1934 volume of Debreceni Szemle writes that from the characteristic vegetation living on the limestone hill of the Gyenesdiás Vadleány cave almost nothing remains. The 1937 Búvár mentions that on the hill of the Gyenesdiás Vadleány cave (at the meeting place of the eastern Pannonian and the western mountainous flora) the original vegetation was destroyed by afforestation.

In the book published in 1937 and written by Gyula Szeghalmy it is mentioned that on the Balaton DNy side, above Tücsök Hill on the Gyenesdiás shore, a small cave mouth darkens, the entrance of the Vadleány Cave (in the local dialect Vadlánlik, Vadlánlik Cave). Although the dolomite breccia floor of the cave has so far shown no trace that it ever belonged to animals or to prehistoric humans, it is still almost unimaginable that this cave was not used by the prehistoric cave dweller who probably roamed this area and found all conditions for life here. Since the cave was always in view and is rare in this region, it is very likely that treasure hunters of the new ages carried out of the cave the cultural layer accumulated in the dolomite breccia and therefore there is currently no trace of the cultural layer in the cave.

According to the article in volumes 11 and 12 of the Lexicon of New Times, which saw the light of day in 1938, Gyenesdiás' popular excursion site is the Vadleány Cave. The hills of Gyenesdiás, especially Vadleány Hill, stand out with their interesting vegetation. The 1939 Folk Culture Bulletin mentions that the diás Vadlánlik is a larger rock shelter of Pannonian age. The diás inhabitants call it Vadlánlik. Béla Dornyay wrote that according to János Jankó the name is Vadleánylika. János Jankó could not explain the meaning of this name. Lajos Lóczy, in his study published in 1913, already calls it Vadleány Cave in literary language instead of the correct, folk Vadlánlik name according to Béla Dornyay.