The
city of caves
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Budapest
is often referred to as the city of spas. It is not as widely known
that it can be called as a city of caves as well, because approximately
200 smaller and bigger caves can be found under the capital. These
caves were formed by the same springs that today supply the thermal
baths. The majority of the caves were discovered at the beginning of
the 20th century, when house buildings and drainage construction works
were carried out. Budapest has 9 strictly protected caves and
3 are open to the public.
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Pálvölgyi
cave
Szépvölgyi út 162.
It was discovered in 1904, during stone extraction. The speleologists
found 1200 metres long passages and beautiful stalagmit
formations. It was soon opened to the public, equipped with
electric lighting in 1927. Since 1944 it is a nature protected area.
There has been continous search for new passeges and by 1980 the lenght
exceeded 13 kilometres. In 2001 the connection with the neighboroughing
Mátyáshegyi cave was discovered and as a result
of this today this cave-system is the second longest in Hungary with
its 18km length. For visitors guided tours are organised in
every hour. The temperature is around 8 Celsius, warm clothing
is recommended. The tour lasts about 50 minutes during which 500 metres
are covered. There are ladders and steep stairs, it is not recommended
for the physically challenged and for children under 5. Opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4pm.
It is also possible to visit the unbuilt, natural areas of the cave, if
you are interested in a more adventurous way of exploring the
caves, please see:
Sightseeing
under Budapest - caving tours in
the undeveloped parts of
Pál-völgyi-Mátyás-hegyi cave
system
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Szemlőhegyi
cave
Pusztaszeri út 35.
In the vicinity of Pálvölgyi cave another smaller
but totally different cave is to be seen. The entrance was discovered
in 1930 during construction works and later a total length of 2200
metres was revealed. The steep and high walls are decorated with
minerals that look like cauliflower, bouqets or bunch of grapes. That
is why the cave is called the underground flower garden.
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For
visitors guided tours are organised in every hour. The temperature
is around 8 Celsius, warm clothing is recommended. Thanks to
the recent renovation the cave can be visited by wheelchair as well.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Friday from 9am to 3pm., Saturday to Sunday
from 9am to 4pm.
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The Castle
cave
Országház
utca 16.
It was formed by the dissoluion of natural springs after the
cementation of the rock. It is a natural formation only in parts, as
later it was built to form a labyrinth of passeges and cellars by the
population of the castle district. It was used as shelter, storage etc.
and was reinforced later by a concrete foundation. Guided
tours daily from 10am to 6pm. The tour lasts about 50 minutes.
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