Monsted Limestone Mines

Limestone has been dug at Monsted since the Middle Ages, and the result is a labyrinth described as the largest limestone mine in the world, with something like 60 kilometres of passages under the fields west of Viborg. A section of it is lit and open to walk: broad chambers with pillars left standing to hold up the roof, narrow galleries between them, still underground lakes, and a temperature that sits around eight degrees whatever the season outside. Cheese was once matured down here, and thousands of bats hibernate in the unlit parts each winter, which is why access is seasonal. Above ground there are old kilns, a small exhibition and a walk over the mined ground.

What you actually see

• The lit galleries - broad pillared chambers and low passages open to walk through.
• The underground lakes - clear still water standing in the flooded lower workings.
• The bats - thousands hibernate here, which is why the mine closes in the cold months.
• The kilns - surface remains of centuries of limestone burning above the workings.

When to go

The mine opens for the warmer half of the year and closes over winter while the bats hibernate, so check dates before travelling. It is one of the better wet-day options in central Jutland, since almost everything is underground. Take a warm layer: it is about eight degrees down there in July as well as October.

Honest expectations

It is cold, damp and dark, and the floor is uneven and slippery in places, which rules out wheels of any kind. Lighting is deliberately low, so photographs rarely come out. Anyone uneasy in confined spaces will not enjoy the narrow galleries. The surface part of the site is thin, and the whole visit is over in a couple of hours.

Nearby

Daugbjerg has a second, smaller mine a few kilometres away; Viborg and its old centre are twenty minutes east.