Nagyszénási Cavity

The Nagyszénási cave is one of the dolomite-formed caves located in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, within the Buda Landscape Protection Area. It is one of the two caves of Nagy-Szénás. It is also described in tourist guidebooks.

Description

In the outskirts of Nagykovácsi, on the side of Nagy-Szénás, in the forest area extending east from the summit, in the rock group called Fülkés-kő, at the foot of a rock wall in a strictly protected nature reserve, at an altitude of 408 m above sea level, the Nagyszénási cave has a 1.8 m wide and 6 m high natural fissure-shaped entrance oriented horizontally and facing east. The lower, widening part of a narrow and high fissure forms the cave entrance. In the past it could be reached via a marked tourist trail, but currently no path leads to the entrance.

The cavity system developed in Triassic dolomite by corrosion, with fissure being the characteristic passage type. Pea stones can be observed in the cave. After the entrance there is a spacious, five‑metre‑long and comfortable chamber that widens slightly further inside. At its end the chamber narrows and after a roughly one‑metre‑high step a smaller inner chamber follows. At the end of the chamber the cave branches into several small cracks and narrows. The cave has a large internal height and the fissure can be seen high everywhere, but the cave becomes increasingly narrow. In the inner chamber, at about six metres height, a small dome opening reaches the surface, allowing light into the cave. The simple, single‑level, horizontal, dry and dusty cave is not closed. No permission is required to view it. Use of basic caving equipment and a lamp is not necessary; it is easily walkable.

In 1976 the cave was first called Nagyszénási-sziklaüreg in its literature. The cave appears in its literature under the names Nagy-Szénási-kőfülke (Pápa, Dénes 1982), Nagyszénási sziklaüreg (Thuróczy 1964), Nagy-Szénási-sziklaüreg (Pápa, Dénes 1982), Nagy-Szénási sziklaüreg (Pápa 1966), Nagy-szénási sziklaüreg (Pápa 1966), Zsiroshegyi-sziklaüreg (Bertalan 1976) and Zsíroshegyi-sziklaüreg (Kordos 1984). The name Nagy-Szénási-kőfülke is misleading, because the Sós-hegyi-kőfülke also has a similar name variant.

Research history

In the book published in 1964 titled *Az országos kék-túra útvonala mentén* it is mentioned that the view from Nagyszénási sziklaüreg is beautiful. In the book *Budai-hegység útikalauz*, which appeared in 1966, it is mentioned that on the side of Nagy-Szénás there are two small caves, the Nagy-szénási barlang and the Nagy-szénási sziklaüreg. A path leads to the Nagy-Szénási sziklaüreg.

In the manuscript *Magyarország barlangleltára*, completed in 1976, the cave is described under the name Nagyszénási-sziklaüreg. The cave’s plaque reads that the cave’s other name is Zsiroshegyi-sziklaüreg. In Nagykovácsin, at Nagy-Szénás, 650 m from the summit towards KÉK, in a rocky environment, the cave has a 2 m wide, 4 m high entrance fissure that is visible from a distance. The tectonically preformed, dead-end cave is 8 m long, 2–3 m wide and 3–4 m high. It is a touch point for orientation competitions. The manuscript’s section on the cave is based on three literary works.

The 1982 publication titled Budai-hegység útikalauz mentions that a path leads to the two small caves opening on the side of Nagy-Szénás, the Nagy-Szénási-barlang and the Nagy-Szénási-sziklaüreg. The map in the publication marks the location of the Nagy-Szénás caves. The book states that the 800 m long blue cave sign leads to the cave called Nagy-Szénási-kőfülke. The area around the kőfülke is very beautiful. The view from its entrance is nice. Opposite a beautiful rocky peak can be seen. The 1984 book Magyarország barlangjai includes the rock cavity in the Budai Mountains in the national cave list under the name Nagy-Szénási-sziklaüreg, with the variant name Zsíroshegyi-sziklaüreg. Associated with the list is a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographical location of the caves of the Dunazug Mountains, indicating the cave’s geographical position.

Borzsák Sarolta compiled the floor plan map and three cross‑section maps of the Nagyszénási-sziklaüreg (Nagykovácsi, cave cadastral area: 4773) on 29 August 2004. The map plate marks the east‑west direction. The floor plan map shows the location of the three cross‑sections within the cave. The maps were made by surveying the cave by Borzsák Sarolta and Egri Csaba. According to the survey the cave is 6 m long and 1.5 m deep. The registration form filled out on 26 September 2004 states that the detailed surveyed cave is 10 m long, with a vertical extent of 6 m, 6 m high and 10 m horizontal extent. No permit is required to visit the cavity.