Jasovská Cave

Jasovská has been known and entered for centuries and was made accessible to the public in 1846, which makes it the first show cave in Slovakia. On one wall is an inscription left by Hussite soldiers in 1452, among the oldest dated writing in any Slovak cave. It holds dripstone, a pagoda-shaped formation and bat colonies, and it is one of the Slovak Karst caves administered as part of the World Heritage property.

Background

The cave lies in the Slovak Karst close to Jasov village, about 25 kilometres from Košice, and is an archaeological site as well as a limestone cave. Its lower parts were found between 1922 and 1924, and in 1924 a concrete footpath and electric lighting were put in. Only part of the system is open to visitors. Its best-known formations are straw stalactites, sinter waterfalls and stalagmites shaped like pagodas, and the air stays between 8.8 and 9.4°C. 18 species of bats live here, and finds include bones of two extinct animals, the cave bear and the cave hyena.

Source: Wikipedia, "Jasov Cave"

The landscape

• The 1452 inscription - Hussite writing on the cave wall, among the oldest dated here.
• The pagoda formation - a distinctive tiered dripstone column.
• The bat colonies - several species roosting in the system.
• The early access - Slovakia's first cave opened to the public, in 1846.

When to go

Year round; the cave holds a constant temperature around nine degrees. Tours run to set times and are less busy than the western caves. A jacket is needed.

What to expect

The cave is modest compared with Domica and the tour is short. Tours are in Slovak with printed translations. The village has little else.

Nearby

Jasov monastery is in the village, and Kosice is east.

Key facts