Zsendice Cave

Zsendice Cave is one of the specially protected caves of Hungary. It is located in the Bükki National Park. Archaeological finds have also been uncovered from it. It is the largest cave formed in Eocene limestone in the Bükk region. It was the largest cave of Southern Bükk.

Description

In Southern Bükk, on the last protrusion of the Kis-Borsós ridge called Orom ridge, the main entrance is north of the protrusion, a few hundred metres away. The hidden, natural‑preserved, sloping, large‑size main entrance, five metres high and 3.3 metres wide, opens near the mountain ridge, on the mountainside, in an area without rock climbing, in a forest, in a nature reserve. It can be approached from the red‑marked tourist trail at Kács. There is also a recently formed, small‑cross‑section vertical entrance, 15–20 metres from the main entrance.

The cave was formed in upper Eocene limestone along tectonic fault lines. It is probably a spring cave, but at first glance it appears to be a sinkhole cave, because it opens high, with the main entrance leading down into the cave. It is currently hydrologically inactive. It is a single‑level, branching cave. Its interesting large morphological form is the spherical chamber, its small morphological form is the spherical dome, the hieroglyph and the wave shell. Few speleothems are found in it. The speleothems appear in its passages in the form of speleothem poisoning. A brecciated rock fragment can also be observed in the cave.

In the Tropical room, guano accumulated in large quantities. According to one of its mentions, a hermit lived there in ancient times. According to the 2008 survey, the cave's length is 110.35 metres, its vertical extent is 13.65 metres, its depth is 11.77 metres, its height is 1.88 metres and its horizontal extent is 26.5 metres. A permit is required for visiting, but it is not closed. The cave can be traversed with basic caving equipment. The most difficult part to traverse is the very steep entrance section, where it is advisable to use a climbing rope. Nowadays only few bats occur in the cave.

Its name comes from zsendice, which is a dairy food according to the Hungarian folklore lexicon. The cave appears in literature as Apakői Cave (Regős 2003) – probably identical with Zsendice Cave –, Apakői Chamber (Regős 2003) – probably identical with Zsendice Cave –, Apakői chamber (Kadić 1941) – probably identical with Zsendice Cave –, Staircase Cave (Gyarmati 1977) – this name was given because of the cave’s character and until the known name of the cave was discovered –, Great Szoros Cave (Kordos 1984) – probably identical with Zsendice Cave –, Szoros Cave (Regős 2003) – probably identical with Zsendice Cave –, Oromtető Cave (Regős 2003), Zsendic Cave (Polgárdy 1941), Zsendice hole (Schréter 1916) and Zsendice-hole (Örvös 1962). In 1937 the cave was first called Zsendice Cave in literature, in the study by László Schőnviszky.

Research History

In his publication appearing in the 1916 volume of *Barlangkutatás*, Zoltán Schréter wrote that the cave has not yet been examined from an archaeological point of view, but it is likely that prehistoric man lived there. On the map in the study that presents the geology of the Kács area, the geographical location of the cave can be observed. In the work written by Géza Reichart and published in 1925, the cavity is described without a cave name. According to the publication, at the beginning of Nagyszoros, high on the southern slope of the mountain, a cave entrance is visible. In this cave a hermit lived in ancient times.

László Schőnviszky wrote in 1937 that the cave opens on the side of Oromtető, near its summit. After a sloping entrance there is a branching cave, in which Gyula Bartalos found Paleolithic pottery fragments as well as an iron fibula. In 1940 the Apakői cavity, which is probably the Zsendice Cave, was investigated paleontologically. During the investigation a few bones in poor condition emerged from the old rock cavity. The Hungarian Tourist Encyclopedia, which appeared in 1941, has a separate entry for the cave. The publication states that the Zsendice Cave is located in the Bükk Mountains, at the border of Kács, on the side of Orom-tető (371 m). Neolithic pottery fragments and a large fibula were recovered from the cave. According to Czenthe Huba’s 1965 thesis, it is conceivable that the Zsendice Cave is the inactive spring cave of the Kácsi spring.

The manuscript titled *Hungary’s Cave Register*, completed in 1976, states that the Zsendice Cave located in Kács in the Bükk Mountains is also called Zsendice-lyuk. Its sloping entrance is on the side of Orom-tető, near the summit, on the mountain slope above the Kisszoros valley, at an elevation of 366 m above sea level. The branching cave is 53 m long and 9 m deep. The part of the manuscript concerning the cave was written based on one literary work. The Spartacus TE Lóczy Lajos Cave Research Group began investigating the cavity system in 1977. That year the group produced the cave’s plan map and four cross‑section maps. At that time the cave was 40–45 m long and 16 m deep. The section on Zsendice Cave in the *Bükk Guidebook* published in 1977 is very similar to the cave description written by László Schőnviszky.