Remete Hole

Remete Hole is a cave located in Pilis Mountains in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Pilisszentkereszt. It is also described in tourist guidebooks.

Description

In the outskirts of Pilisszentkereszt, 550 m east of the Két-bükkfa ridge, 100 m north of the tourist trail marked with a green stripe, the cave entrance is situated 25 m higher. From its stone‑ear‑shaped, 3 m long cavity a narrowing side branch descends to the right. At its end there is a corrosion‑originated void chamber, which is 1.5 m. It has no formations, corrosion forms segment its walls. It has no significance for further research. The cave, which can be entered without a permit, can be visited using basic caving equipment.

The cave also occurs in the literature under the names János‑luka‑cave (Kraus 1997), Remete‑luk (Kraus 1997), Remetelyuk (Vörös 1930) and Urbándombi rock cavity (Kadić 1952). In 1976 the cave was first called Remete‑hole in the literature.

Research history

The 1930 issue of Turisták Lapja mentions that Remetelyuk is located east of the Gyula‑pihenője cave, under the Két-bükkfa ridge, and is 2 m long and 1.5 m wide. It is not known how deep the cave is, because it is filled with thrown wood and rock debris. Varga‑hole is located east of Remetelyuk.

The 1937 volume of Turisták Lapja states that Remetelyuk lies on the border of Pilisszentkereszt, in front of the Két-bükkfa saddle, on the D side of Urbán Hill. The cave was reported in 1913 by Gyula Szücs. László Schőnviszky and others searched for it several times, until they finally found a small mushroom-shaped hole roughly at the indicated location, which, however, does not exactly match the cave described by Gyula Szücs. The narrow hole descends about 6 m and opens into a small 6 m cavity, which ends to the north with a small 4 m niche. The cave formed in the Dachstein limestone belonging to the Pilis mountain mass. The guidebook Pilis-hegység, published in 1948, mentions that to the left of the water divide and important road junction of the Két-bükkfa saddle, on the mountainside (a few steps away) is the Remete hole.

According to the manuscript written by Ottó Kadić and completed in 1952, the Urbán Hill rock cavity (Remetelyuk) is located on the border of Pilisszentkereszt, in front of the Két-bükkfa saddle. The entrance to the rock cavity is on the D side of Urbán Hill. It cannot be seen from the road because it is completely hidden by bushes. Its semicircular entrance is overgrown with moss and wintergreen. The narrow entrance leads about 6 m down into a 6 m cavity, which ends to the north with a 4 m niche. The part of the manuscript concerning the cave was written based on three publications.

In the 1953 Geographical Bulletin, in a study written by Sándor Láng, it is stated that the Remetelyuk in the Két-bükkfa saddle is an as yet unknown cave, whose entrance is said to be to the right of the wooden fence located under the saddle, on the mountainside. The entrance is covered by bushes. No one has examined the cave, which is mentioned only in a tourist guidebook. In figure 6 of the publication, on the longitudinal section map of Pilis Mountain, the approximate geographical location of the caves on Pilis Mountain can be seen. The geographical location of Remetelyuk under the Két-bükkfa saddle is observable on the drawing.

The book Pilis Guidebook, published in 1974, mentions that on the green-marked tourist trail on the K side, from the Szopláki Devil’s Hole to É, there are two small caves in the limestone rocks that appear among the trees. In the Hungarian Cave Bibliography, a cave name index compiled by Károly Bertalan and László Schőnviszky and published in 1976, a cave in the Pilis Mountains is listed under the name Remete-lyuk. The cave name index mentions a literary work that deals with the cave.

In the manuscript Hungary’s Cave Register, completed in 1976, it is written that the Remetelyuk (Urbándombi rock cavity) is located in the Pilis Mountains, in the Pilis region, at Pilisszentkereszt. The cave entrance is in front of the Két-bükkfa saddle, on the D side of Urbán Hill. From the Két-bükkfa saddle towards Pilisszentkereszt one must walk 2 minutes to the first S bend. About 150 m to the right from the signpost there, it opens in the rocky cone of a small subsidiary hill. The cave is 2 m long, 1.5 m wide and 1.8 m high. The small cavity has a Z-shaped entrance. The part of the manuscript describing the cave was written based on five literary works.

The 1981 MKBT Report states that the Foton Cave Research Group discovered two small cavities on a hill between the Szopláki Devil's Hole and the Dobogókő artificial tunnel in 1981, one of which is 3 m long and the other 12 m long. In 1982 József Kárpát drew the cave plan map, longitudinal section map and two cross‑section maps, which present the cave at a scale of 1:50. The plan map shows the location of the two cross‑sections in the cave. The Acheron Cave Research Group’s 1982 report mentions that the group surveyed the Remete Hole located 1 km east of the Szopláki Devil’s Hole. The report includes four cave maps prepared on the basis of the survey. The 1982 MKBT Report published the part of the group report referring to the cave and the four cave maps (without indicating the scale).

In the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984, the cave Remete Hole (Urbándombi rock cavity) is listed among the caves of the Pilis Mountains. Associated with the list is a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographic location of the caves of the Danube‑Zug Mountains, indicating the cave’s geographic position. The manuscript written by József Kárpát in 1990 describes the 5 m long and 2 m deep cave. The manuscript includes the four maps of Remete Hole made in 1982. The compilation written by József Kárpát in 1991 mentions that Remete Hole (Pilisszentkereszt) is 5 m long and 2 m deep. The guidebook that appeared in 1991 repeats the reference to Remete Hole found in the 1974 guidebook.