Wassermannsloch

The Wassermannsloch lies in the Erzbach valley east of Oberjassingau, between the villages of Hieflau and Eisenerz. It is the most important karst spring in the south-western Hochschwab massif. Locals also call it the Schwarze Lacke or Neustücklgrotte. The spring’s average flow is 524 litres per second, though it can drop to 50 or surge to 10 000. With a surveyed length of 1 084 m behind a permanent siphon, it is Austria’s longest cave of this kind. Interest began early: in 1747 Emperor’s envoy Joseph Anton Nagel examined the site and wrote a manuscript about it. Cavers from the Verein für Höhlenkunde in Obersteier have explored the cave since 1995 under the Aquarius project. A local legend tells of a water spirit who traded knowledge of the Erzberg for his freedom and then vanished into the spring. The entrance opens on private land beside the Erzbach.