Kivonulás Cave

Kivonulás Cave is one of the caves located on Kis-Strázsa Hill in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

The entrance of the cave is at the end of a small side yard located on the north‑west slope of Kis‑Strázsa Hill, next to Dorog in the Esztergom‑Kertváros district, above the upper edge of the large quarry overlooking the Danube. The entrance chamber was formed at the boundary of Triassic limestone and Eocene sandstone under phreatic conditions. From the chamber a shaft about 10 m deep descends. In the shaft, which is formed only in Triassic limestone, needle‑like protrusions, white pea‑stones and dissolved thin tubes can be observed. The shaft can be easily descended without equipment, and its bottom is suitable for further exploration. The cave passage is walkable in basic equipment. Frequent visits are evident from the condition of the formations.

In 1990 the cave was first called Kivonulás Cave in the literature.

Research History

It was reported in the 1990 MKBT Programme Booklet that the Benedek Endre Cave Research Group discovered a cave on Strázsa Hill at the Dorog border on 24 July 1990. The cave is located behind the former Soviet barracks, and despite this the group members did not find any traces of human intervention in the cavity. The part of the cave explored so far is 7 m deep. At the bottom of the shaft there is a 2 m long branch blocked by rock debris. The possibility of research is certain up to 99 %. A strong draft is detectable. The unexplored cave system is of karst origin. Its walls are covered with aragonite, gypsum, calcite and barite crystals, therefore it is probably related to the Sátorkőpuszta Cave, which lies 1.5 km away. The group named the new cave Kivonulás Cave and began its investigation. In the research of Kivonulás Cave and Kápolna Cave, Péter Fogel, Károly Krekács, Gábor Récsey, Erzsébet Balogh, Géza Zsanda, István Tóth, Tamás Lieber, Lóránd Janositz, Péter Mielec, Tamás Hertlik, Krisztián Simon and Ferenc Fekete take part. In a manuscript written by József Kárpát in 1991 it is mentioned that Kivonulás Cave (Esztergom) is 10 m long and under investigation.

In the 1991 report of the Benedek Endre Cave Exploration and Nature Conservation Association it is written that the association, during a field walk on July 24, 1990, found a natural cavity which the group thought contained a large cave. The cavity located 1 km from the Sátorkőpusztai Cave is similar to the Sátorkőpusztai Cave because thermal water played the greatest role in its formation. The group members expected great results from the cave research because of the spherical chambers, gypsum and aragonite fillings in the cave, but later it turned out to be in vain. The cave located on Kis‑Strázsa Hill received its name because of the Soviet military withdrawal that took place at that time. The withdrawal was of great significance for the inhabitants of the area.

The group spent 8 days researching the cave. In the cave Gábor Récsey, László Makra, Péter Fogel, Tamás Hertlik, Krisztián Simon, Erzsébet Balogh, Attila Dobler, Zsolt Papp, István Tóth and Tamás Lieber worked. According to the report, on 24 July 1990 the group members found a wide hole in an abandoned place in the upper part of the mine. They entered the hole and saw that it connects to a larger cavity. The cavity depth is about 7 m, width 80–250 cm. The end of the passage is blocked. The chance of proceeding further is 89–99 %. In the cavity barite, pea stone, needle aragonite and calcite were observed. About 1 m³ of rock was removed from the cave, allowing them to advance another 2 m. On 5 August 1990 about 2.5 m³ of material (rock, clay) was removed. During the excavation work tools were found that prove that people had previously been in the cave. It is likely, however, that these people did not explore the cave and the debris was not artificially introduced into the cave. On the 5th, moving along the stalagmite formation, the previously 7 m shaft became a 9 m shaft, and the lowest 2 × 0.8 m chamber became a 3 × 1.2 m chamber. It is possible that after this chamber the cave continues slightly to the left, then downwards.

On August 11, 1990 it was determined that the presumed passage was blocked with stones. A strong draft is noticeable. On August 19–20, 1990 about 3 m³ of material was removed from the cave. During the work a winch was used, which greatly facilitated the work, but only few (4 persons) were present to achieve significant results. As a result of the two‑day work the cave became 2 m deeper, and the lower chamber became 4 × 2.3 m. On the left side of the chamber a corridor was uncovered, which is about 3 m long. They could not enter the corridor because there is a lot of debris at the entrance. Visibly the corridor becomes narrower further in. The wall of the corridor has beautiful aragonite and gypsum crystals.

On August 25–26, 1990 it became evident that further progress in the cave was impossible. Two photographs were included in the report that are related to the cave. The first photograph shows Gábor Récsey and the cave exploration. The second photograph shows the cave explorers (Zsolt Papp, István Tóth, Tamás Hertlik, Erzsébet Balogh, Tamás Lieber, Krisztián Simon). The first photograph was taken by Tamás Lieber, the second by Péter Fogel. The manuscript shows the site plan of the Sátorkőpuszta cave and its surroundings, prepared by the group (Péter Fogel). On the plan (scale 1:40 000) the geographical location of Kivonulás Cave can be observed.