Stalagmites and Stalactites at Kateřinská (Catherine) Cave, Czechia

A cave in Moravia is full of these strange rock formations, and it's high time you and I visit it while passing through

And now for something quite different from the usual postcard themes: a few specimen from a nice tourist attraction in Czechia. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to such a cave with stalagmites and stalactites, but if you haven’t, do check out one—it’s an amazing sight.

From their website:

An old legend related to a shepherdess called Catherine (Kateřina) says that she entered the cave through this portal when she was looking for her lost sheep. But she lost her way in the underground and has never found her way back. A 60m long passage leads from here to the largest cave space open to the public in the Czech Republic - the Main Dome. The natural underground cathedral known since time immemorial is 96 m long, 44 m wide and 20 m high. It is known for its perfect acoustics and therefore it is occasionally used for the music concerts.

The acoustics of this dome is demonstrated to the public with a short but impressive example of reproduced music. Several passages and chimneys lead from the Main Dome. The most important of them is called the Bear Chimney, communicating with the surface through so far unexplored spaces. The mass discovery of whole bear skeletons in 1936 by Prof. Karel Absolon placed it among the most important paleontological sites in the Czech Republic. From the Main Dome the tour continues to the New Catherine Cave discovered in 1909. Right at the beginning of that part, one of the most beautiful sights of the Moravian Karst appears – dozens of thin high stalagmites and sinter columns are grouped in the so called Bamboo Forest.

I guess you’re already excited—here’s a few postcards from Kateřinská Cave.

Unique natural monuments are completed with dripstone formations called the Pheasant, Two Owls and Sheep on the Rock. To the right of the pavement can be seen the remarkable stony cave-in – the Calvary - with several dominant stalagmites. Around the Minaret and the so called Small Bamboo Forest the pavement leads to another big space – the Dome of Chaos. The larger number of boulders on its bottom shows evidence of mighty breakdowns in ancient times, maybe even due to an earthquake.

Below, the “Tree of Reverie” is shown:

The below formation is known as “The Witch” or “Witches”:

A Stone Forest and a Small Lake—Inside a Cave

Both images above and below show parts of a “forest”, a formation nowadays labelled the “Bamboo Forest” (see the above description from the website).

Finally, the below postcard shows a “little lake in the back dome”:

After this little detour to the Kateřinská (Catherine) Cave, Czechia, our little trip around the world in so many vintage picture postcards continues apace.