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National nature monuments – Dead Bats’ Cave

The caves are a part natural heritage of the Slovak Republic. The Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic no. 543/2002 of the Legal Codes On Nature and Landscape Protection enacted all the caves and abysses natural monuments. The most important ones are declared by the Ministry of the Environment the national nature monuments. All the show caves belong by now among the most important caves.

Dead Bats’ Cave

The Dead Bats’ Cave belongs among the largest and most important high mountain caves in Slovakia. It is situated in the central part of the Low Tatras in the Ďumbier high mountain karst (1,750 m above the sea). The relatively small, deeply folded limestone massif of the Kozie Chrbty 2 km long and 300 m wide, contains a lot of passages inside spread over by now known 14 levels and two parallel branches. Underground labyrinth has the measured length of 19,885 m and depth 324 m at present. The biggest underground space - Bystrický Dome, is located on the 7th level at the depth of 180 m, having the volume of 52,500 m3.

One of the cave specialities is the occurrence of volcanic rocks of Cretaceous age infolded in the limestone strata. They appear in cave passages in several places where they show by red-brown or green colour. The volcanic rock contains lenses of agates of white-pink hue. Another speciality are the findings of bat bones, which appear almost everywhere and by which the cave received its name. Their age is estimated to 6,000 years. Skeleton remains of martens, bears and goats were found in the entrance parts of the cave.

The average air temperature of the cave is +3,5 °C, however some seasonally glaciated parts have the annual average only +1 °C. Air flow movement reaches 5 m/s because of the open character of the cave.

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