Rózsalugas Cave

The Rózsalugas passage is a cave located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in the area of Oszoly. It is also described in tourist guidebooks.

Description

It is located in the outskirts of Csobánka, at the foot of the second large rock group east of the Oszoly Óra wall, next to the Denevéres cave, with two entrances. The Two-Entrance cave is situated 120 m east of the Rózsalugas passage, 20 m higher. The Pados cave is 40 m east and 10 m lower than the Rózsalugas passage. The lower entrance is 2 m wide and 2.2 m high. The upper entrance, 1 m in diameter, is debris‑filled and irregularly shaped, located among rocks and dense shrubbery. The upper part formed by fissure freezing and percolation in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone. The 5 m long sloping cavity is debris‑filled. The passage cave can be traversed relatively comfortably without equipment.

In 1984 the cave was first called the Rózsalugas passage in the literature. In the literature the cave also appears under the names Rózsa passage (Kordos 1981) and Rózsalugas passage (Kordos 1971).

Research History

In the 1967 book Pilis guidebook it was reported that on the north side facing Oszoly Csobánka, among the forest‑surrounded limestone rocks, there are several insignificant cavities. According to a publication in the 1969 Karst and Cave Research Bulletin, in August 1969 the Speleology Cave Research Group placed fixed points in the Oszoly and the Oszoly side’s eight smaller and larger cavities during a camp organized in Kevélyek. In 1969 the 5 m long and 3 m high cave was surveyed by Erzsébet Wehovszky and László Nagy with permanent points and a mining compass. Based on the survey, Erzsébet Wehovszky edited, and László Kordos drew a floor‑plan map with a cross‑section and a longitudinal section map, which were made at a scale of 1:100.

In 1970 László Kordos and Péter Welker examined the cave's climate with an Assmann-type aspirating psychrometer. In the 1970 report of the Speleology Cave Research Group it can be read that the Rózsalugas passage is located about 6 m under the Denevéres cave, at the foot of the second large rock group É, which lies east of the Óra wall on the Oszolyon. The passage consists of a single low crack about 3 m long. Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone cracked, probably formed in blocks that have broken off. Its bottom is filled with a thin, stony fill, and small pea‑sized stone traces can be seen on the walls. It is probably a water‑filled collapse cave. During rain strong dripping can be observed, otherwise it is dry. No equipment is required to enter the cave. In 1970 the Speleology Cave Research Group examined it. Earlier investigators are unknown. It does not appear in the literature. Maps made in 1969 were included in the report’s appendix.

In the 1974 book *Pilis útikalauz*, in the list of caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains (pages 19–20), it is mentioned that there are the Oszoly caves among the caves of the Pilis and Visegrád Mountains. According to the section describing the caves of the Pilis Mountains, there are about a dozen small caves among the Oszoly rocks rising above Csobánka. These were mapped and regularly explored by the Speleology Cave Research Group. Most of these small caves are not very spectacular, but they must be mentioned because some of them provide excellent bivouac possibilities in the Oszoly rock walls regularly visited by tourists, especially rock climbers, and in their vicinity. About 6 m under the Denevéres cave there is a 5 m long passage cave.

In the 1975 MKBT Report the 1970 report's section concerning the cave was published together with the maps attached to the report. The publication contains a site drawing on which the geographic locations of the Csúcs Hill and the Oszoly caves can be seen. The drawing shows the geographic location of the Rózsalugas passage. In the manuscript written by Bertalan Károly and completed in 1976 it is readable that the Rózsalugas passage is located in the Kevély group in the Pilis Mountains, at Pomáz. The cave is located about 6 m from the second large rock group at the foot of É, which lies between the Oszoly Óra wall and É, under the Denevéres cave. The only low passage consisting of a low crack is 5 m long and 3 m high. The part of the manuscript describing the cave was written based on a manuscript.

In the 1981 first–second semester issue of Karst and Cave it was made public that the Rózsa passage has the cave registry number 4820/26. In the 1984 book *Caves of Hungary* the national cave list includes the cave among the Pilis Mountains caves under the name Rózsa passage with the variant name Rózsalugas passage. Associated with the list, the geographic location of the cave is shown on a 1 : 500 000 scale map presenting the geographic locations of the Dunazug Mountains caves. In 1990 a floor plan map with a cross‑section and a longitudinal section map were made, which depict the cave. In the 1991 compilation written by József Kárpát it is mentioned that the Rózsalugas passage (Csobánka) is 5 m long and 2 m deep. The 1991 guidebook repeats the cave description from the 1974 guidebook and the general description of the Oszoly caves.