Solymár Cave

Solymár Devil's Hole is one of Hungary's highly protected caves. It is located in Solymár, in the Buda Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park. Part of it is developed for tourism. Paleontological and archaeological finds have been recovered from it. Bats also occur in its passages.

Description

The main entrance is located in the Buda Mountains, in the northern part of the range, on the northeastern side of the Zsíros hill group, at an altitude of 348 metres above sea level. From a distance the huge stone quarry, abandoned in the early 20th century, is visible, and this entrance opens only a few metres from its upper edge. The main entrance is a more than 1.5‑metre wide, east‑facing and almost circular opening. Another, smaller and vaulted entrance is the Pipe, which is 70 metres north‑west of the main entrance. The third, highest entrance, the Foxes' Hole, which opened 90 metres west and 20 metres higher than the main entrance, was excavated in the 1950s but was concreted over in the 1970s because of collapse danger. Both accessible entrances of the cave are sealed.

The cave formed in the Triassic Dachstein limestone that makes up Zsíros Hill. It was previously considered a water‑draining cave, but investigations in the 1950s demonstrated a hydrothermal origin. According to some, the cavitation began in the Pliocene, according to others in the Pleistocene, about half a million years ago. The upward‑flowing warm water mixing with infiltrating cold waters caused the previously soluble water to again dissolve the rock, expanding cracks and fissures into a complex plan, a spatial labyrinth network. This also left its mark on the present shape of the cave: narrow, high corridors, narrow passages connecting them, chambers formed at fissure intersections, and alternating vertical sections. The higher parts of the cave are characterized by dome‑like chambers and dome vaults.

The later dried-out cave was further shaped by water seeping from above, partially transforming the original flowstone formations. The most conspicuous traces of cold-water activity are the stalactite formations, which cover several square meters in some parts of the cave, unfortunately now in a heavily damaged condition. On the walls and rocks of the passages, the mineral calcite is also frequently found, ranging from a few millimeters to centimeter size. In some parts of the cave gypsum crystal clusters can also be seen.

From the entrance to the Rest Area everything is walkable without difficulty, only lighting is needed. On a few steps at the entrance one can reach the Antechamber. To the left the depth of the Cellar darkens. After a few meters the Rope, also called the Great Funnel, concrete stairs begin to descend. After several turns one can descend to the Dome room, which lies 15 meters deeper, where a few stalactite formations are already visible. From here a steep iron staircase leads further, then after a sharp turn concrete stairs again lead to the so‑called Rest Area. The easy tour ends here. The duration of this tour is about 20 minutes.

The further built section in the part extending to the Pipe requires basic caving equipment. The opening at the southern end of the Rest leads to the Circus, whose left-hand railing can be reached with a rope ladder, from where a winding, narrow passage leads to the equally large Labyrinth. A few meters later two ladders, then with a rope ladder, can be climbed up to the Chamber, and from there again down two ladders to the Guanó room. The narrow Stalactite corridor starting from there, followed by the very narrow Squeeze, is the most uncomfortable part of the tour, which must be descended by ladder into the high Curtain corridor. At its end one can climb up somewhat awkwardly about 2 meters, then at the end of the reached winding corridor a ladder leads to the horizontal section before the exit. Here one must slide forward on foot into the exit named Pipe, referring to the shape of the passage. The duration of this tour is about 1 hour.

The Youth Cave Tour and Cave Sport Therapy Association leads overall sport tours and children’s tours to the cave. Visiting further sections of the cave is not recommended without caving practice or a guide. For viewing these sections the cave key and visitation permit are issued by the Danube–Ipoly National Park Directorate.

The cave is referred to in its literature as Devil's Hole of Solymár (Kordos 1977), Ördöglyuk (Bekey 1913), Ördög-lyuka (Koch 1871), Ördöglyuka (Koch 1871), Ördöglyuk-barlang (Dudich 1925), Solymári-barlang (Kadić 1929), Solymári barlang (Tasnádi 1926–1927), Story of the Devil's Hole (Barcza, Thirring 1920), Solymári Ördöglukbarlang (Barcza, Thirring 1920), Story of the Devil's Hole (Kordos 1978), Solymári Ördöglyuk (Dudich 1932), solymári Ördög-lyuk (Kordos 1984), Solymári Ördöglyuk-barlang (Szegő 1948), Solymári-ördöglyuk Cave (Takácsné, Eszterhás, Juhász, Kraus 1989), Solymári-zsomboly (Kordos 1984), Teufels-Höhle (Arányi 1881), Teufels-Loch (Koch 1871) and Vörösvári-barlang (Kordos 1984).

Flora and Fauna

The bats living in the cave were noticed early on. Around the turn of the century a foreign company leased it and, with huge machines, extracted tons of guano for soil improvement, but after the Second World War, estimates still indicated that about 75 m³ of extractable material remained in the passages. It is a good illustration that the depression of the Circus farm was almost completely filled with guano, which today leaves no trace there. Its quantity filled several railway cars. At one time one could walk on a meter‑thick layer of guano even in the maze of passages.

In addition to the guano, the still present bat bones prove that large numbers of round‑eared leaf-nosed bats, long‑winged bats, horseshoe bats and common bats lived in the cave (the first two no longer do). Today the common bat, small leaf‑nosed bat and large leaf‑nosed bat, as well as horseshoe bat, big-eared bat, short-eared bat and water bat are found. Since the extraction of the guano and decades of regular tours, the bats are now seen only in very small numbers.