Ofnethöhlen

The Ofnethöhlen are natural karst caves near Holheim, a district of Nördlingen in the Donau-Ries district of Bavaria.

Nördlingen

The Ofnethöhlen are natural karst caves near Holheim, a district of Nördlingen in the Donau-Ries district of Bavaria.

Characteristics

• Type: Cave
• Municipality: Nördlingen
• Record updated: November 13, 2026

Caves are protected biotopes (§30 BNatSchG). Caves used by bats as winter quarters must not be entered from 1 October to 31 March (§39(6) BNatSchG), except show caves and their developed parts.

Location

The Ofnethöhlen are natural karst caves near Holheim, a district of the Swabian town of Nördlingen in the Donau-Ries district of Bavaria. They are located on the southwestern part of the almost two-kilometer-long Riegelberg – a ridge of limestone that is also called „Himmelreich“. The caves lie in the transition zone from the Nördlinger Ries to the Riesalb, which belongs to the Swabian Alb. They are freely accessible.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

1. Ofnethöhlen

   48.818467, 10.450428
   UTM 32U (ETRS89) 606471.4810000423 5408290.33399951
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Photos

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© Franzfoto · CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N%C3%B6rdlingen_-_Ofneth%C3%B6hle_auf_dem_Riegelberg_02.jpg

© Tobi Merk · CC BY 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blick_auf_die_Ofneth%C3%B6hlen_-_panoramio.jpg

© Franzfoto · CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N%C3%B6rdlingen_-_Ofneth%C3%B6hle_auf_dem_Riegelberg.jpg

© Franzfoto · CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:N%C3%B6rdlingen_-_Ofneth%C3%B6hlen,_Infotafel.jpg

© Fpank · CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ofneth%C3%B6hlen_-_N%C3%B6rdlinger_Ries.jpg

Image 1 of 5

Description

Morphology

The Ofnethöhlen are the remains of an underground karst system on the crater rim of the Nördlinger Ries. In the cave register Fränkische Alb (HFA) they are registered as M 7 (Große Ofnethöhle) and M 8 (Kleine Ofnethöhle). The caves, including the immediate surroundings (a total of approx. 8 hectares), are also classified as the nature reserve „Ofnethöhlen bei Holheim“.

Other details

The origin of the term „Ofnet“ is not documented.

History

Archaeological finds indicate that the caves were inhabited from the Middle Paleolithic to the Mesolithic. The Ofnethöhlen gained supraregional significance when Stone Age skull burials were discovered in the year 1908.

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Source: Geotopkataster Bayern (Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt) (www.umweltatlas.bayern.de), modified. CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Datenquelle: Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, www.lfu.bayern.de · https://www.umweltatlas.bayern.de/mapapps/resources/reports/sb_geotope/generateBericht.pdf?additionallayerfieldvalue=779H001 · 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/356052506 · 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 (Ofnethöhlen) · 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/Ofneth%C3%B6hlen · data as of 2026 · The derived data is available on request under the ODbL: [email protected]