Birresborner Eishöhlen, © Eifel Tourismus GmbH Dominik Ketz

Caves

Are you interested in mystical caves? Our holiday region has a few to offer!

Exploring the numerous ice and millstone caves in the Gerolsteiner Land adventure region is dark, partly eerie and in any case adventurous.

For centuries, the basalt of the volcanic Eifel was suitable for the production of millstones, which were used in paper and tan mills, but also in grain and oil mills. The sweaty mining of the millstones created today's cave labyrinths, in which icicles of astonishing size still form in particularly cold winters.

All the caves are freely accessible to visitors. However, some caves are closed in winter because bats spend their hibernation here.
To explore the caves, be sure to bring a torch and wear a helmet.

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Buchenlochhöhle

The Buchenlochhöhle is located in the nature reserve of the Gerolstein Dolomites. The cave was washed out of the rock millions of years ago by the dissolving power of groundwater and is open all year round.

Birresborner Eishöhlen

Until far into the 19th century millstone were carved out in the caves. But the caves also were used as natural "refrigerators". In the winter time they were equipped with ice and snow so that cooling conditions kept the cold far into the summer.

Mühlsteinhöhlen Hohenfels-Essingen

The three caves are located at Mühlenberg, north of Hohenfels-Essingen.

Vulkanpfad, Mühlsteinhöhle, Gerolstein-Roth, © Eifel Tourismus GmbH, Dominik Ketz

The millstone caves of the Rother Kopf

The millstone caves are located northwest of Gerolstein, between the districts Müllenborn and Roth. For those who want to get really deep insights into the interior of the volcano Eifel, a visit to the Mühlstein caves is a must.

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