Caves and potholes of Nordrhein-Westfalen
The catalogue of Nordrhein-Westfalen lists 170 caves, including 4 potholes and 166 caves. The longest is Kluterthöhle (8,852 m) and the deepest is Hollenloch (92 m).
Length adds each cave once (a system counts once), and depth is that of the deepest cave, canyons excluded. Without length data: 152. Without depth data: 167. Without known lithology: 170.
The 20 longest
| # | Cave | Location | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kluterthöhle | Ennepetal, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis | 8,852 m |
| 2 | Atta-Höhle | Attendorn, Kreis Olpe | 6,670 m |
| 3 | Heinrichshöhle | Hemer, Märkischer Kreis | 3,000 m |
| 4 | Hollenloch | Brilon, Hochsauerlandkreis | 2,700 m |
| 5 | Reckenhöhle | Balve, Märkischer Kreis | 2,500 m |
| 6 | Bilsteinhöhle | Warstein, Kreis Soest | 1,700 m |
| 7 | Aggertalhöhle | Engelskirchen, Oberbergischer Kreis | 1,071 m |
| 8 | Dechenhöhle | Iserlohn, Märkischer Kreis | 870 m |
| 9 | Kreuzhöhle | Iserlohn, Märkischer Kreis | 750 m |
| 10 | Veledahöhle | Bestwig, Hochsauerlandkreis | 243 m |
| 11 | Feldhofhöhle | Balve, Märkischer Kreis | 189 m |
| 12 | Hohlsteinhöhle | Schlangen, Kreis Lippe | 185 m |
| 13 | Balver Höhle | Balve, Märkischer Kreis | 138 m |
| 14 | Illingheimer Höhle | Sundern (Sauerland), Hochsauerlandkreis | 120 m |
| 15 | Blätterhöhle | Hagen | 92 m |
| 16 | Honert-Höhle | Balve, Märkischer Kreis | 50 m |
| 17 | Frühlinghauser Höhle | Balve, Märkischer Kreis | 18 m |
| 18 | Zwergenhöhle | Lindlar, Oberbergischer Kreis | 7 m |
The 20 deepest
| # | Cave | Location | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hollenloch | Brilon, Hochsauerlandkreis | 92 m |
| 2 | Kluterthöhle | Ennepetal, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis | 35 m |
| 3 | Honert-Höhle | Balve, Märkischer Kreis | 16 m |
Map
Districts
The figures of these places do not add up to the total: a cave can be in more than one place, or in none when its location has no lower level.
Administrative units: © BKG (2026) dl-de/by-2-0 (data sources). Boundaries simplified and reprojected by EspeleoWorld.
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. · 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. · The derived data is available on request under the ODbL: [email protected]