Heimkehle
Encyclopedia
The Heimkehle is one of two great gypsum caves in Germany that are accessible as show cave
s. It lies on the southern edge of the Harz Mountains between Rottleberode
and Uftrungen
, east of Nordhausen
, right on the state border between Thuringia
and Saxony-Anhalt
. The cave
may be visited as part of a 45 minute long guided tour.
many of the room are or were filled with water. The cave receives an average of 20,000 visitors a year.
of Anhalt
visited. But not until 1920 was the cave opened up by Theodor Wienrich who had electric lighting installed. On 12 September 1920 the show cave was opened. Because the largest part of the Heimkehle was covered at that time with a contiguous lake, it was negotiated in boats.
From 1944 the Nazis turned the cave into a bombproof production site for the Dessau Junkers Factory
, who had parts for the Ju 88
and other products manufactured here. V-weapons were also supposed to have been produced here. Initially large parts of the lake were concreted over and three production halls and several tunnels built, of which the largest could even be used by lorries. The tunnels and access galleries were able to be cut in a relatively short time due to the softness of the gypsum. in relativ kurzer Zeit angelegt werden. Prisoners from the Rottleberode satellit of the Mittelbau concentration camp were drafted in to man the underground facilities. Due to the brutality of the SS guards and the climatic conditions in the cave the death rate amongst the prisoners was very high. Towards the war's end the cave was evacuated and the prisoners were sent on death marches
to other concentration camps. A large number of them died as a result.
After the war the cave was considered as a military installation by the allies
due to its production facilities. In 1946 they had all the access galleries blown up. The cave suffered heavy damage as a result of roof and side wall collapses. From 1953 the Heimkehle was opened up. New entry and exit galleries were driven and the structures that had not already been destroyed were removed. Hardly any traces of buildings may be seen in the cave today. The concreted lakes could not be uncovered because the thickness and quality of the concrete used by the Nazis did not allow it to be removed. More demolition work would have caused further destruction of the Heimkehle. So the cave may now be visited on foot. In 1954 it was re-opened as a show cave. In the small cathedral (Kleiner Dom), where there had also been production facilities, East German authorities built a memorial to the concentration camp inmates. In the Great Cathedral (Großer Dom), in which only a few traces of the production site can still be see, a laser show was installed in 1990. The formal opening of the karst museum took place in 1979.
Show cave
Show caves — also called tourist caves, public caves, and in the United States, commercial caves — are caves that are managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee...
s. It lies on the southern edge of the Harz Mountains between Rottleberode
Rottleberode
Rottleberode is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Südharz....
and Uftrungen
Uftrungen
Uftrungen is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Südharz....
, east of Nordhausen
Nordhausen
Nordhausen is a town at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Nordhausen...
, right on the state border between Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
and Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
. The cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
may be visited as part of a 45 minute long guided tour.
Description
The Heimkehle is a gypsum cave with a length of about 2000 metres, 750 metres of which are normally part of the guided tours. However due to construction work at present (2008) only 600 metres are accessible. The largest cavern is 65 metres long, 65 metres wide and 22 metres high. As a result of the high solubility of gypsum there has been intensive karstification and a resulting formation of voluminous cave systems. Because it is close to the water tableWater table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
many of the room are or were filled with water. The cave receives an average of 20,000 visitors a year.
History
The Heimkehle was first mentioned in the records in 1357. In 1649 the PrincePrince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
of Anhalt
Anhalt
Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...
visited. But not until 1920 was the cave opened up by Theodor Wienrich who had electric lighting installed. On 12 September 1920 the show cave was opened. Because the largest part of the Heimkehle was covered at that time with a contiguous lake, it was negotiated in boats.
From 1944 the Nazis turned the cave into a bombproof production site for the Dessau Junkers Factory
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
, who had parts for the Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
and other products manufactured here. V-weapons were also supposed to have been produced here. Initially large parts of the lake were concreted over and three production halls and several tunnels built, of which the largest could even be used by lorries. The tunnels and access galleries were able to be cut in a relatively short time due to the softness of the gypsum. in relativ kurzer Zeit angelegt werden. Prisoners from the Rottleberode satellit of the Mittelbau concentration camp were drafted in to man the underground facilities. Due to the brutality of the SS guards and the climatic conditions in the cave the death rate amongst the prisoners was very high. Towards the war's end the cave was evacuated and the prisoners were sent on death marches
Death marches (Holocaust)
The death marches refer to the forcible movement between Autumn 1944 and late April 1945 by Nazi Germany of thousands of prisoners from German concentration camps near the war front to camps inside Germany.-General:...
to other concentration camps. A large number of them died as a result.
After the war the cave was considered as a military installation by the allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
due to its production facilities. In 1946 they had all the access galleries blown up. The cave suffered heavy damage as a result of roof and side wall collapses. From 1953 the Heimkehle was opened up. New entry and exit galleries were driven and the structures that had not already been destroyed were removed. Hardly any traces of buildings may be seen in the cave today. The concreted lakes could not be uncovered because the thickness and quality of the concrete used by the Nazis did not allow it to be removed. More demolition work would have caused further destruction of the Heimkehle. So the cave may now be visited on foot. In 1954 it was re-opened as a show cave. In the small cathedral (Kleiner Dom), where there had also been production facilities, East German authorities built a memorial to the concentration camp inmates. In the Great Cathedral (Großer Dom), in which only a few traces of the production site can still be see, a laser show was installed in 1990. The formal opening of the karst museum took place in 1979.
Sources
- Heimkehle at www.showcaves.com. Retrieved on 8 May 2010.