Under the region’s highest peak of Śnieżnik, in the village of Kletno, there is the longest cave of the entire Sudetes. Richly decorated with stalactites, the cave was discovered late and by accident – in 1966 during work in a marble quarry. Skeletons of a cave bear, a cave lion and many other Pleistocene animals were discovered at the site.
The known length of the halls and passages in the Bear Cave is more than 5 km, while the depth is more than 100 m. Geophysical research allows us to assume that the branches of the cave can reach far into the Snieżnik massif. It is possible that they reach as far as the Czech Republic and the Morawa River, located across the valley!
A tourist route, open to tourists, runs along the middle level, with the cave’s unique and well-preserved flowstone cover and a large number of bones of Ice Age animals.
Bear Cave – origins
The formation of the Bear Cave is closely linked to the remains of sea-dwelling organisms that once covered the area. These layers were covered by other sediments and subjected to enormous pressures in subsequent periods. Thus, limestone transformed into crystalline limestone, or marbles.
During the glaciations, mottling rich in the remains of animals living at the time was formed in the cave. The largest remains belong to the cave bear, which is how the cave got its name. Bones of cave lion, cave hyena, wolf, bison, marten, bats (several species), beaver, roe deer, wild boar, fox and many rodents have also been found there.
The cave is home to numerous bats. This is their unique wintering ground in Europe – in 2016, about 1,200 individuals were observed here, including more than 600 individuals of the Geoffroy’s bat, one of the very rare bat species.
The cave is open year-round except Mondays and Thursdays. The tour time of the cave is about 45 minutes. Prior online reservations are required before visiting.