Our World Tuesday, Monsted Kalkgruber

In the blinding july summer waiting for the minetrain to get me to the Monsted kalkgruber. It is a 1000 year old limestone mining cave in northern Jutland near Viborg, Denmark (google maps). The pipes in this photo were used for lime burning.

In the warm summer day the mouth of the tunnel feels like it's breathing cold damp air right at this moment when the minetrain approaches the cave. The temperature inside the cave is always 8 C / 46 F. If you are familiar with visiting caves, then you know this same temperature applies to all caves. Unlike new mines, this historical mine is quite near the surface.

First there is a multimedia presentation about the history of lime and Denmark projected to the cave walls.

Then it's about time to walk around the mine. There is 2 kilometers of lit and fixed pathways. The total length of the caves is about 60 km, making this the largest lime stone cave in the world. These caves are also the home to 10,000 bats. The bats, however, are not at home during spring and summer. In my opinion the caves were unexpectedly large, airy and easy to walk. They say that visits are possible even for disabled with wheelchairs for some parts of the mine. I didn't feel cold either as there was a lot of walking around up and down.

 


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