Goetz-Höhle - Eingang
The Goetz-Höhle is a collapse fissure cave on the Dietrichsberg near Meiningen, regarded as the largest cave of this type in Germany, and is walkable along 420 meters in four parallel fissures and three levels.
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Goetz-Höhle - Eingang
The Goetz-Höhle is a collapse fissure cave on the Dietrichsberg near Meiningen, regarded as the largest cave of this type in Germany, and is walkable along 420 meters in four parallel fissures and three levels.
Meiningen
Depth: 33 m
Updated record
https://espeleoworld.com/en/c/goetz-hoehle-eingang-meiningen
Information can change. Always verify coordinates, access, weather, and cave conditions before setting out.
The Goetz-Höhle is a collapse fissure cave on the Dietrichsberg near Meiningen, regarded as the largest cave of this type in Germany, and is walkable along 420 meters in four parallel fissures and three levels.
Photos
© Kramer96 · CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:G%C3%B6tzh%C3%B6hle01.jpg
Description
Morphology
The Goetz-Höhle is a collapse fissure cave. It is regarded as the largest cave of this type in Germany and is the only developed and walkable joint and fissure cave in Europe. The joints and fissures formed about 25,000 years ago through a landslide of the slope toward the Werra, which is still ongoing. The cave is walkable along a length of 420 meters in four parallel fissures and three levels.
Progression
About half of the guided route consists of artificially constructed tunnels running across the fissures.
Other details
The cave is a natural monument and an archaeological monument.
History
The cave was discovered by the Meiningen merchant Reinhold Goetz in August 1915. After development, which dragged on over several years with interruptions, it was opened as a show cave on 21 April 1934. From 1970 to 2000, guided tours were suspended after the cave was closed due to alleged safety deficiencies. On 22 April 2000, the cave was reopened after a thorough renovation.
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Contains information from Grottocenter (Wikicaves), grottocenter.org, made available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0, https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/), modified. · https://grottocenter.org/ui/entrances/23686 · data as of 2026 · Contains information from © OpenStreetMap contributors, www.openstreetmap.org, made available under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0, https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/), modified. · names · obtained 2026-11-13 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/659680703 · data as of 2026 · Source: Wikidata – cave items (Germany) (www.wikidata.org), modified. CC0 1.0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ Wikidata (CC0 1.0) · names · obtained 2026-11-13 · data as of 2026 · Source: German Wikipedia – article leads (cave descriptions) (de.wikipedia.org), modified. CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Wikipedia contributors (de.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text by Wikipedia contributors (Goetz-Höhle) · adapted by Espeleoworld (normalized, translated); the adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · description · obtained 2026-11-13 · https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetz-H%C3%B6hle · data as of 2026 · The derived data is available on request under the ODbL: [email protected]