CR: The Cave Na Pomezí - A Cave With A Heart

Cave Na Pomezí is the greatest cave in cristalic limestones in the territory of the Czech Republic. It is placed in the surroundings of the town of Jeseník, 400 metres distant, at the col Na Pomezí, in an altitude of 450 metres above sea level.

Cave-system has wealthy ramificated, narrow corridors, halls and high chimneys.

This cave is typical for its power cascades of sintre waves and big stalactites of heart formation, which appear in onion or radish forms.

Upper floor has, however, dilapitated character, and fallen ruins are mostly hardened with sintres. This floor is not compact, and was modelled with demolition of broken limestone stratta. In this floor, there are to be found: Ice Dome, May Cave, King´s Dome and a Dome close to Pulpit.

Lower floor is a labyrinth, full of narrow crumbled and rusty corridors. Most of accessible system is to be found here. This floor is placed nearly in water-level of Vidnávka-river.

Nevertheless, no standard flow is flowing through, but before the pumps were installede there, this area was frequently inundated, at the thaw or during period of heavy rains.

The whole river-bed is passing throughout ceiling floor, most visible in the corridor of so called Roman Baths. Such cracked corridors inside lower floor are narrow, steeply bowed or perpendicular and rather high. The crumbled corridors are, on the contrary, changed by means of subterranean flow.

This beautiful and rich stalactite decoration was preserved in its original state, especially in such part of  cave system which is not accessible for public, in crumbled corridors, after „Kangaroo Pockets“, in Labyrinth and in Marsh Dome.

Decoration elements:

- stalactites and stalagmites of various forms, fromsmall quills up to stalagmites of carrot formation.

- „Sea Anemones“ - are stalagmites with enlarged and concave peaks in plate forms

- stalagmites of candle form, with sintre borders and edges, established in the water level

and below level of sintre lakes

- sintre fringes, curtains and curtain borders

Interesting information:

- cave spaces were discovered in August 1949

- the first part of cave, 130 metres long, was open for public in 1950

- later, in summer 1955, the route, 530 metres long, was open for public

- some skeleton rests, craniums as well as long bones of bats and forest martens were found in the cave

- inside former Havranek Quarry, karst hollows were uncovered, at the beginning of 20th century

- total system length makes 1320 metrs

- air temperature in the cave is moving at 8 °C

- the cave serves as an important wonter stay place for bats

Text: Tereza Flašková

Translation: ing. Jan Jonáš

Source: Jeskyně (Edice Chráněná území), RNDr. Jaroslav Hromas a kolektiv

Photo: Monika Babická