Koneprusy Caves
Encyclopedia
Koněprusy Caves is a cave system in the heart of the limestone
region known as Bohemian Karst, Czech Republic
. It is located southwest of Prague
, 6 km south of Beroun
in the Central Bohemian Region
. The name derives from nearby village of Koněprusy
. With the length of 2 km and vertical range of 70 m, it is the largest cave system in Bohemia
.
close to another hill called Kobyla (Mare), and nearby is a place called V koníku (In a Little Horse). A short journey westward leads to Kotýz, a karst plateau
. Many legends have been woven about Kotýz and one of them tells about sacred horses used by the Celts for campaigns of war. A prehistoric settlement existed here, which, in Celtic times, some experts believe might well have served as a place of cult worship; druids possibly maintained a cult of the horse here.
Golden Horse hill conceals the most extensive cave system in Bohemia
, accidentally discovered after an explosion in a nearby limestone quarry
in 1950 and subsequently were made accessible for the public in 1959. Spanning two kilometers and three levels, the cave system inside the Zlatý kůň hill consists of passages and domed chambers interconnected by shafts developed in limestone of Devonian
age. The caves were formed by a small stream at the end of the Terciary period, as well as by the rainfall that seeped through cracks in the limestone. Rich dripstone formation was created by copious amounts of stalagmites and stalactites as well as by little sinter lakes. A tour leads the visitors through the upper and middle levels, presenting a chain of domed chambers, caves and passages with dark abysses between them. The most beautiful area is deemed by experts to be the extensive Prošek chamber with its sinter Jezírko lásky (Little lake of love). The caves also offers the spetacular "Koněprusy Roses", a sight that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They were formed by calcium
carbon
ate dissolved in water, which then gradually precipitated on the walls of the underground lake in the shape of bushes, the tips of which later fell away to create an unusual formation reminiscent of rose blooms.
have excavated thousands of prehistoric animal bones from the Pleistocene
period. Dating back 2000,000 to 3000,000 years, findings include the remains of the ancestors of the elephant mastodon
, sabre-tooth tiger
, monkey
, cave bear
, deer
, reindeer
, cave lion
, woolly rhino
, wolf, beaver
, hyena
and horse
amongst others.
The bone spliters of Neanderthal
man aged about 13,000 years, stone tools and decorative objects from the early Stone Age
provide evidence that prehistoric man also found refugee in the caves. A counterfeiter's workshop, since dubbed "the Mint", was discovered by pot holers on the upper level of the caves. Here from 1460-1470 unknown forgers
made the Hussite
coins bearing the symbol of the Czech lion. Instead of silver
they used copper
thinly covered with silver amalgam. The descended underground through a shaft near the to of the Golden Horse hill. It offers panoramic views in all directions; when the weather if fine about one-sixth of Bohemia is visible. The tour of the caves is 620 m long and lasts about one hour.
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
region known as Bohemian Karst, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It is located southwest of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, 6 km south of Beroun
Beroun
Beroun is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The town is part of the Prague metropolitan area. It is located 30 km southwest of Prague and has a population of 18,930 . It lies on the confluence of Berounka and Litavka rivers.Despite its small size, it is an...
in the Central Bohemian Region
Central Bohemian Region
Central Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative center is placed in the Czech capital Prague , which lies in the center of the region...
. The name derives from nearby village of Koněprusy
Koněprusy
Koněprusy is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The municipality covers an area of 6.03 km² and as of 2006 it had a population of 222....
. With the length of 2 km and vertical range of 70 m, it is the largest cave system in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
.
The caves
A hill called Zlatý kůň (Golden Horse) rises above the village of KoněprusyKoněprusy
Koněprusy is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The municipality covers an area of 6.03 km² and as of 2006 it had a population of 222....
close to another hill called Kobyla (Mare), and nearby is a place called V koníku (In a Little Horse). A short journey westward leads to Kotýz, a karst plateau
Kras
Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...
. Many legends have been woven about Kotýz and one of them tells about sacred horses used by the Celts for campaigns of war. A prehistoric settlement existed here, which, in Celtic times, some experts believe might well have served as a place of cult worship; druids possibly maintained a cult of the horse here.
Golden Horse hill conceals the most extensive cave system in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, accidentally discovered after an explosion in a nearby limestone quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
in 1950 and subsequently were made accessible for the public in 1959. Spanning two kilometers and three levels, the cave system inside the Zlatý kůň hill consists of passages and domed chambers interconnected by shafts developed in limestone of Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
age. The caves were formed by a small stream at the end of the Terciary period, as well as by the rainfall that seeped through cracks in the limestone. Rich dripstone formation was created by copious amounts of stalagmites and stalactites as well as by little sinter lakes. A tour leads the visitors through the upper and middle levels, presenting a chain of domed chambers, caves and passages with dark abysses between them. The most beautiful area is deemed by experts to be the extensive Prošek chamber with its sinter Jezírko lásky (Little lake of love). The caves also offers the spetacular "Koněprusy Roses", a sight that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They were formed by calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
ate dissolved in water, which then gradually precipitated on the walls of the underground lake in the shape of bushes, the tips of which later fell away to create an unusual formation reminiscent of rose blooms.
Findings
In the earth filled parts of the caves paleontologistsPaleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
have excavated thousands of prehistoric animal bones from the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
period. Dating back 2000,000 to 3000,000 years, findings include the remains of the ancestors of the elephant mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
, sabre-tooth tiger
Saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat or Sabre-toothed cat refers to the extinct subfamilies of Machairodontinae , Barbourofelidae , and Nimravidae as well as two families related to marsupials that were found worldwide from the Eocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch ,...
, monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
, cave bear
Cave Bear
The cave bear was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum about 27,500 years ago....
, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
, cave lion
Panthera leo fossilis
Panthera leo fossilis, also known as the Early Middle Pleistocene European cave lion, is an extinct feline of the Pleistocene epoch. It is generally considered to be an early subspecies of the lion ....
, woolly rhino
Woolly Rhinoceros
The woolly rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived the last glacial period. The genus name Coelodonta means "cavity tooth"...
, wolf, beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
amongst others.
The bone spliters of Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
man aged about 13,000 years, stone tools and decorative objects from the early Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
provide evidence that prehistoric man also found refugee in the caves. A counterfeiter's workshop, since dubbed "the Mint", was discovered by pot holers on the upper level of the caves. Here from 1460-1470 unknown forgers
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
made the Hussite
Hussite
The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...
coins bearing the symbol of the Czech lion. Instead of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
they used copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
thinly covered with silver amalgam. The descended underground through a shaft near the to of the Golden Horse hill. It offers panoramic views in all directions; when the weather if fine about one-sixth of Bohemia is visible. The tour of the caves is 620 m long and lasts about one hour.