Chronik

In contrast to many other caves in the Hoelloch cave there were no prehistoric discoveries. According to a legend the history started in 1875 when Alois Ulrich realised that the gorge called Hell sometimes brings very large amounts of water but most of the time is completely dry. When he investigated this gorge he found the entrance to a cave, the Hoelloch. Together with his sons, he was the first explorer.

Here you can find a detailed personal chronicle written by our 1st member Bruno Baur.

1888 Hoelloch cave first mentioned in a newspaper (Bote der Urschweiz).

1901 Six courageous members of the Swiss Alpine-Club (SAC) advanced for the first time quite far inside the cave.

1904 Paul Egli published in Zurich his theses on the Hoelloch cave. To date galleries with a total length of 4.3 km were known. Also other foreign explorers such as the well known Frenchman Martel became involved in research work.

1905 A Swiss-Belgian association was formed having their headquarters in Brussels. Up to Sandhalde , they completed 1070 m of the cave with pathways, stairs and electrical illumination. It was their hope to profit from tourists. However there were not many visitors and after that floodings twice destroyed all equipment the association went bankrupt.

1907 Three men reached Salle Anglaise. This was the last notice of a longer trip into the cave for nearly 40 years.