Oroszlán Cave

Lion Cave is one of the protected caves located on the side of Goat Hill in District II of Budapest, within the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

It can be reached via the blue‑marked tourist trail of the National Blue Trail – this section is called Glück Frigyes Road. Above Lion Rock, to its northeast (one must start left of Lion Rock on the mountain side), on the upper part of the rocky, steep mountain slope, it opens at the base of a 3‑metre rock wall. It is located about 100 metres northwest of the summit of Goat Hill. Near it, below, is the North Cavity of Lion Rock.

Its entrance looks onto a rock tower 10 metres away, about 1 m² in size, horizontally oriented, semicircular and artificially enlarged. It formed in Triassic dolomite. Its length is 11 metres and its vertical extent is 4.7 metres. According to the description by Károly Krekács, the cave (which then was 8 metres long) slopes gently and narrows at the end, where there is a north‑south‑oriented T‑shaped branch. At the end of the northern passage a narrow passage leading to a depth can be seen. The cave passage is traversable with basic equipment, and a permit is required to visit. Occasionally homeless people live in it.

It is one of four caves on Goat Hill; the other three are Goat Hill Gorge, Lehel Hole and the North Cavity of Lion Rock.

In the literature the cave also appears under the names Goat Hill Cave (Kraus 2004), Lion Gorge Cave (MKBT Programme Booklet 1986), Lion Stone Cave (Krekács 1989) and Cave above Lion Rock (Kraus 2004). The name Lion Cave was given to the cave by Károly Krekács in 1985.

Research History

Sándor Kraus probably mentioned this cave in his final research report of 1983. In the manuscript, the cavity above Lion Rock was described in a few words. The cavity had been visible up to 2–3 m in length years earlier, but then could not be found for a long time. The cave does not appear in the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984. Károly Krekács introduced the cave in 1985. He was the first to discover it, in the summer of 1960. At that time the cavity was only the entrance of a loosely filled fox den with debris. Thus it was once one of the local fox dens.

Over the years the cave was gradually explored and opened up. The section after the narrow passage was examined in the summer of 1984 with a caver's lamp. As a result of this experiment they concluded that a long passage still awaits exploration. For people, further progress is possible only after the passage is widened. Krekács Károly prepared in 1985 the draft floor plan map of Lion Cave, the draft longitudinal section map and four draft cross‑section maps. At that time he marked the cave’s location on a site plan, drew a scenic sketch of the cave entrance, and compiled the photographic documentation of the cave and the cave exploration. The USE Pannónia Cave Research Group received a research permit for the Lion Gorge Cave on 15 July 1986. Krekács Károly prepared in 1989 the draft floor plan map of the cave and a photographic documentation consisting of colour photographs. The Student Speleoalpin Group’s 1989 group report contains an account of the cave and its exploration.

The USE Pannónia Cave Exploration Group had a research permit for the cave in 1990. According to the Budapest encyclopedia published in 1993, the Pocket Cave is the highest situated cave among the Hármashatár Hill group. In his 2004 report, Sándor Kraus mentioned the cavity. Gábor Károly and Károly Gábor (members of the Ariadne Karst and Cave Exploration Association) prepared the floor plan map and two cross‑section maps of the Pocket Cave (Budapest District II, cave registry unit: 4762) on 23 March 2005. The cave was surveyed by Gábor Károly, and then Károly Gábor (using the survey data) compiled the maps. The location of the two cross‑sections within the cave can be seen on the floor plan map. On the map, the east direction is indicated. According to the survey, the cave is 11 m long, 3.7 m deep and 1 m high.