Top 4 Caves around Girkenroth

The cave is hidden in a sheltered spot near the water, where you can easily imagine why the "cavemen" chose it as their place of residence. Today bats live there, so it is closed. But you can look inside and there is a bench and an information board about bats and the Neolithic finds.

Simply fascinating and definitely worth a visit to the eternal ice. Pleasant cooling off on hot days and you can also linger here very well. A sign explains the phenomenon of "Eternal Ice" in a way that everyone can understand. We will definitely come back here.

unfortunately you cannot enter the cave

this cave (man-made) is constantly being rebuilt

Shortly before the puppies are born, the pregnant she-wolf looks for a cave in which she gives birth to her offspring and houses them for protection. A wide variety of loopholes are useful for this, such as deep riverbank hollows, cavities under fallen trees or rock overhangs, hollow tree trunks, a gap between rocks and so on. Sometimes wolves also use abandoned burrows of other animals such as bear caves or beaver dams. Often caves have been used by wolves for generations. A cave in Jasper National Park was used eight times in 15 years. Another on Ellesmere Island may be even older. Bones up to 783 years old have been found in it. In an ordinary wolf cave, the birth chamber is at the end of a tunnel that can be up to 5 meters long in soft earth. The cave itself is often slightly elevated from the rest of the tunnel. The birth chamber has a diameter of about 90cm and is about 60cm high. The cave entrance has a width of about 50cm to 70cm and a height of about 38cm to 50cm. Often the cave is located near a water source and at an elevated place so that the wolf can spot approaching enemies early. The alpha male stays outside the cave for protection and often plays the decoy to lure approaching predators such as bears and eagles away from the cave, whose prey can be a very young puppy. Although wolves often defend their den against wild predators, they will usually run away when humans approach them. Over the years, wolves change their burrows and relocate with their offspring, covering a distance of more than 1.6km. This happens either due to a parasitic infection of the cave or disturbance from humans or other animals.

Interesting geological feature. Well signposted and you can feel the cold air immediately.

If the temperatures rise above 30 degrees and make us sweat a lot, then a visit to the Eternal Ice in Dornburg is recommended, where the outside temperatures are a pleasant 20 degrees and very close to the mountain even drop to 3 degrees. Everyone has probably heard of the eternal ice in Dornburg. I was also familiar with it, but unfortunately I had never been there myself in all those years. Due to a professional appointment, I was lucky enough to get to know this place for the first time. Coming from Frickhofen in the direction of Wilsenroth, there is a small car park on the right after the building yard, from which it is 300 meters to the Eternal Ice. The closer I get to the spot, the noticeably cooler it gets. Cool air from the mountain The place itself seems quite inconspicuous at first. Two large, barred openings allow a view of the mountain. You are at the end of a slope covered with basalt boulders. A clear draft can be felt in front of the openings. There is still snow in one of the openings. It was shoveled in in winter so that visitors to this place can get an idea of how cold it is in the mountain, Joachim Habel from the Frickhofen Culture and History Association explained to me. The thermometer goes down in no time and stays at 3 degrees Celsius. It was a funny coincidence, because only one day later the Hessenschau was there and reported on the coolest place in Hessen. Since the eternal ice is a unique natural phenomenon in the Westerwald, it is part of the Geopark Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus. In 1839, while demolishing basalt rock, workers discovered icing beneath the mass of rubble. Deep in the mountain, the rocks are frozen to a depth of eight meters. Now with the hot temperatures, this ice is not visible. It would also make no sense to remove stones, because then the ice would melt very quickly because of the lack of insulation. The mountain made of basalt rock has numerous cracks and crevasses that promote ice formation. Furthermore, this is favored by the large difference in height between the inlet and outlet openings for the air. These are all prerequisites for a chimney effect to occur. The rubble on the slope has a heat-insulating effect. The incoming warm air from outside penetrates the mountain and cools down. Cold air is heavier and sinks downwards - thereby drawing new air into this "chimney" from above. The cold air flows back out at the two ends of the tunnel. This cool draft can be felt very well when you stand in front of it. From there it is worth a slight climb to the Hildegardisfelsen, from which there is a wonderful view. The Hildegardis chapel and the fountain as well as the Celtic wall at the former Dornburg can also be discovered there. They are all part of the Blasiussteig. An interesting area on the doorstep and a recommended visit given the current temperatures.

The cave is a cultural monument and is among other things inhabited by bats. It is closed with a grille and is therefore not open to the public.