Top 8 Caves around Töpen

Because there is a lot of information waiting for you along the entire route.

An information board explains the historical background. Interestingly, the Saale rises in the Fichtelgebirge from a former mine tunnel in which yellow chalk was mined. Humboldt was there too.

Insight is not possible because a massive door obstructs the view. A gate would be more interesting.

This nature park is a popular destination with a gondola station, a bridge on the rock, Wenceslas Cave and a 30 meter and 12.5 centimeter long bench. (Source: https://www.thueringen.info)

Theresienstein Park is located in the north-east of the inner city of Hof an der Saale in Bavaria. Its history dates back to 1816, making the Theresienstein one of the oldest public parks in Germany. The park is named after Queen Therese Charlotte, the wife of the Bavarian King Ludwig I. From 1861 to 1899, the Hof city councilor Johann Gottlob Thomas had a significant influence on the design. The park was included in the Bavarian state garden show in Hof in 1994. In 2003 the Theresienstein was awarded the title of Germany's most beautiful park. Source and more info www.parks-und-gaerten.de/buergerpark-theresienstein

The private Christian Langheinrich donated the property behind the labyrinth to the beautification association in 1886. In line with romantic ideas, a grotto was created there, a cherub's head was carved into the natural stone above it and, in keeping with tradition, a plaque was dedicated to the donor. Grottoes were popular in landscape gardens; they transitioned from the cultivated park to the 'natural' part just like here, where the grotto marks the start of a steep serpentine path leading down the slope to the old diabase quarry. The founder, Christian Langheinrich, was a rope maker. These cords are called North German, because they had to cross (weave) long, thin ropes (cords) to make thick ropes. For the long ropes, a 400 meter long, free track was needed to braid the ropes. This later became a street in Hamburg: the Reeperbahn.

Theresienstein Park is located in the north-east of the inner city of Hof an der Saale in Bavaria. Its history dates back to 1816, making the Theresienstein one of the oldest public parks in Germany. The park is named after Queen Therese Charlotte, the wife of the Bavarian King Ludwig I. From 1861 to 1899, the Hof city councilor Johann Gottlob Thomas had a significant influence on the design. The park was included in the Bavarian state garden show in Hof in 1994. In 2003 the Theresienstein was awarded the title of Germany's most beautiful park. Source and more info https://www.parks-und-gaerten.de/buergerpark-theresienstein/

600 years ago, adventurers of fortune laboriously dug their way into the mountain more than 30 meters deep in search of hidden treasures. It was of no use to them. It is true that grains of gold were actually found in the nearby Saale. But the Untreubach, which flows into the Saale, transported them from far away. The greywacke and argillaceous shale here in and around the adit are completely deaf (meaning worthless in miners' slang). However, the drudgery was not entirely in vain: for centuries, the tunnel was used as a refrigerator for food. The tunnel is now a stop on the geopath. Actually, it can only mean one thing when a tunnel has been driven into the mountain: the hope of wealth! Because digging a cave in the hard rock is infinitely difficult. 600 years ago there were no steam engines. The cavity was created by hand using only picks, hammers and chisels. A feudal deed (a deed of ownership) from 1472 for a mine on the Saale, including search tunnels for gold, silver and copper, has been preserved in the Hof city archive. Perhaps you are standing at this search tunnel? Deep in the mountain, the end of the tunnel branches out again into two side branches before the miners have given up digging. The side branches show how low and narrow the tunnel was originally (left: 1.80 m tall adult; right: our Hofer gnome, 6-year-old Elisabeth, 1.15 m tall). The tunnel was later extended to store groceries in the cool room.