Location: Koněpruské jeskyně Koněprusy
Open: 8am- 4pm Apr-
June
8am- 5pm July- Aug
8am- 4pm Sept
8:30am- 3pm Oct
Closed: Nov- March
Tel. (311) 622- 405
The Koněpruské caves are located inside the Zlatý kůň hill above
the village of Koněprusy in the Český karst PLA, about 5 km south of
the district town of Beroun and about 4 km southeast of the town of
Králův Dvůr. They are protected as a cultural monument of the Czech
Republic.
Koněpruské caves are the longest cave system in
Bohemia. It is an extensive three-story cave system built in
Devonian limestones with a height difference between the individual
floors of about 70 m. The middle floor of the caves was first
discovered in 1950, completely by accident, during blasting in a
local quarry. Koněpruské caves were mostly made accessible in 1959.
The smallest area is the upper floor and the largest is the
middle floor. The lower, inaccessible floor lies at a depth of about
70 m below the surface and has the character of a corridor-like
system. It was created by rainwater that seeps into it through
chimneys and fissures and gradually dissolves the limestone rock,
giving rise to karst and karst phenomena. A special feature here are
the so-called Koněpruské rosettes, which contain opal.
A
large number of animal bones from 600,000 - 13,000 years ago and
also human bones belonging to the Homo sapiens sapiens species,
which are about 45,000 years old, were found in the Koněpruské caves
system. Sometime between 1469 and 1472, there was a minting workshop
on the upper floor, where fake coins were produced.
The
entrance to the caves is located about 50 m above the bottom of the
former Houbov quarry and is used to enter the middle floor of the
caves. After entering, you walk through the Spallanzani cave, the
cave near the Organ, where the stalactites emit different tones, and
the Kukla Dome. Visitors will walk past the 27 m deep Letošník abyss
(it was named after Vlastimil Letošník, who fell into it from a
height of 12 meters and broke his leg during research after the
discovery of the cave), visit the Old Corridors and reach Prošk's
Dome, which is the most beautiful cave space with a sinter lake and
Koněpruské rosettes. Then follows the Pustý dóm with copies of some
skeletal finds of animals and several skeletal remains of a
prehistoric woman and Peter's dome with the entrance to the Petrbok
cave named after the speleologist J. Petrbok. In February 2007, a
new cave was discovered in Petrbokov's cave, in which the skeletal
remains of an 800,000-year-old cave bear were additionally
discovered. The tour ends with a climb up the spiral staircase to
the top floor of the cave - the Mint, from where you exit.
Koněpruské caves are of extraordinary importance for the knowledge
of the geological development of Central Bohemia in the Quaternary
period.
The Koněpruské caves are operated by the Cave
Administration of the Czech Republic and are accessible from April 1
to October 31. The length of the sightseeing route is 620 meters.
Some cave spaces are large, so even people suffering from
claustrophobia do not have to worry about entering (however, watch
out for the relatively narrow connecting corridors, tunnels and
tunnels between some spaces). There are a large number of steps in
the cave (530 in total, including a spiral staircase with more than
80 steps), so entry is not recommended for people in poor health.[4]
Furthermore, entry is not recommended for children under 3 years of
age.