Matricás Cave

Matricás Cave is a semi-cave formed in andesite, located on Szamár Hill in the Visegrád Mountains of the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Geographic location

On the western side of the lower, 279‑metre, double‑summit Szamár Hill, a rock wall 200 metres long and 10–15 metres high has formed. At the northern end of this wall, at about 235 metres above sea level, the semi‑cave opens.

Description

A stone block about 10×20×2 metres slid down the rock wall on its edge and then leaned against the wall. Behind the upper part of this, the semi‑cave was created, which is 7.6 metres long and around the 5‑metre mark has a walkable opening leading to the upper edge of the rock slab, forming a second entrance.

The first five metres are spacious, about one metre wide, 1.75 metres high at the entrance, narrowing inward with the floor rising, and only four‑hand‑wide walkable. After the dome opening to the surface, the passage narrows, but after the narrow part it widens again into another sloping chamber, whose height is only 50 centimetres, and then it gradually becomes impassable as it narrows.

The floor of the semi‑cave consists of humus and fallen rocks. No mineral deposits are found in it. Interestingly, although the surrounding area is densely populated, its approach is easy and its entrance is conspicuous, yet there is hardly any trace of human presence. One of the few traces is the already faded sticker near the entrance of the semi‑cave glued to the wall, which then gave the cavity its name.

Research history

On 4 March 1995 Peter Szilvay discovered it and made a map of the cavity. There is no data on earlier exploration. The manuscript titled *Bibliography of Non‑Karst Caves of Hungary*, completed on 12 November 2001, includes Matricás Cave in its cave name index. The index mentions one literary work dealing with the cavity. It is not item 364 that mentions it, but item 363.

In a 2014 study published in Karst Development it is stated that on the eastern side of Esztergom, on Szamár Hill, there is a supporting false cave, the Matricás Cave, whose cavity was formed under one huge stone block leaning against the rock wall. The cavity is 7.6 m long and 2.7 m high. It is one of the 101 caves of the Visegrád Mountains.