No 3 Cave of Esztergomi Vár-hegy

The 3rd cave of Esztergom Castle Hill is one of the caves located in the Visegrád Mountains in the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

The entrance of the cave is located on the steep southern side of the Castle Hill in Esztergom. The 3rd cave of Esztergom Castle Hill lies in carbonate rock between the Széchy Dénes Cave and the 2nd cave of Esztergom Castle Hill, but lower. The 3rd cave of Esztergom Castle Hill is a chamber from which a body‑length narrow passage, only crawlable, runs diagonally to the left downwards.

The cave occurs in literature under the names Basilica cavities (Kadić 1952), Basilica cavities (Bertalan 1976), Esztergom Basilica Hill cavities (Bertalan 1976), Esztergom Basilica Hill cavities (Schőnviszky 1937), Esztergom Basilica‑Hill cavities (Bertalan, Schőnviszky 1976) and Esztergom Castle Hill 3rd cave (Slíz 2017).

Research history

The 1926–1927 Caving Survey mentions that during bat observations carried out in 1923–1924 by András Tasnádi Kubacska and Lajos Véghelyi, on 20 February 1924 a brown long‑eared bat (Plecotus auritus L.) male was found in one of the five smaller‑larger cavities and caves located in the Mesozoic limestone of Castle Hill in Esztergom. The Tourist’s Journal issue of 1937, in a study written by László Schőnviszky, notes that the Esztergom Basilica Hill cavities are found in the Mesozoic mountain ridge scree. Five smaller‑larger cavities, which are insignificant. In Ottó Kadić’s manuscript completed in 1952, the Basilica cavities (Esztergom) are mentioned using László Schőnviszky’s 1937 publication. In Esztergom, in that limestone scree on which the basilica was built, a few smaller‑larger cavities have formed. None of these have been investigated until now.

In the manuscript titled *Hungary's Caves* completed in 1976, it is written that the cavities of Esztergom Basilica Hill (Basilica cavities) are located in the Visegrád Mountains and the Pilis Mountains, in Esztergom. The smaller–larger five cavities are found in the forest of Basilica Hill. The entrances to the cavities are unknown. The part of the manuscript describing the cavities was written based on 1 publication. In the *Hungarian Speleology Bibliography* cave name index compiled by Károly Bertalan and László Schőnviszky and published in 1976, the Esztergom Basilica Hill cavities in the Pilis Mountains are mentioned. The cave name index cites 1 publication that deals with these cavities.

In the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984, the Esztergom Basilica Hill cavities (Basilica cavities) appear among the caves of the Szentendre–Visegrád Mountains. Associated with the list, the geographical location of the caves of the Danube‑Zug Mountains is shown on a 1:500 000 scale map. According to the 1987 report of the Balassa Bálint Museum Cave Research Group, archaeological research of the Esztergom Castle’s Danube‑facing side revealed several cave entrances in the rock wall beneath the castle. The caves were covered and (partially) filled by debris thrown out during the early 1930s fortification work. From the Széchy Dénes cave to DK, the group discovered another cave entrance. This cavity is not filled with waste, but its entrance was re‑buried because it was intended to be explored later.

In the 1988 report of the Balassa Bálint Museum Cave Exploration Group it is written that on the Esztergom Castle side, at the same level as the Széchy Dénes cave, there are several smaller, bricked-up cavities and it is expected that a few more will emerge. Some elderly, water-town residents remember the caves. The guidebook Pilis and the Visegrád Mountains, published in 1991, mentions that on the westernmost part of the mountain range extending to Esztergom there are a few small caves, which are currently bricked up. Allegedly, in these caves modern pottery shards were found between the two world wars. On the register sheet of Széchy Dénes cave dated October 8, 2002 it can be read that in the rock climbing area that houses Széchy Dénes cave, at the limestone and sandstone border there are still several cavities, some of which were filled with concrete during the restoration work carried out on Castle Hill. It is possible that a cave network related to the limestone-sandstone boundary, but very filled, can be discovered.

The 2017 report of the Saint Öszéb Cave Exploration Association briefly describes the Esztergom Castle Hill No 3 cave. It became the No 3 cave because, according to the association, the Széchy Dénes cave is the No 1 cave. The report includes two colour photographs that show the Esztergom Castle Hill No 3 cave. The first photograph shows the cave entrance, the second photograph shows the cave chamber. The manuscript contains a map fragment of Esztergom on which the geographical location of the Esztergom Castle Hill No 3 cave can be seen.