Eisriesenwelt

The Eisriesenwelt is a vast natural cave system cut through limestone in the Tennengebirge range of the Austrian Alps. It lies about forty kilometres south of Salzburg, inside the Hochkogel mountain near the town of Werfen. The cave is the world’s largest ice cave, stretching over forty-two kilometres in total. Only the first kilometre is open to visitors, where thick ice formations cover the floor and walls. Cold winds blowing through the entrance keep the ice from melting even in summer. The cave’s history begins in 1879, when Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, became the first outsider to explore it. Locals had long avoided the cave, believing it led to Hell. In 1912, speleologist Alexander von Mörk led further expeditions and later had his ashes placed inside a niche in the cave after his death in the First World War. A cable car now carries visitors up the mountain in minutes, replacing the old ninety-minute climb. Inside, guided tours follow a set route past striking ice features. The Posselt Tower stalagmite stands in Posselt Hall, and an ashen cross marks the limit of Posselt’s early exploration. The Great Ice Embankment rises twenty-five metres high, while Hymir’s Castle displays the Ice Organ, a curtain of hanging ice. The tour ends at the Ice Palace, one kilometre into the cave and four hundred metres below ground, before returning the same way.