The Dechenhöhle is located in the over 20 km long stalactite cave park of the "Grüner Tal" and is considered one of the most beautiful caves in Germany. The reason for this are the countless stalactites and stalagmites worth seeing, such as the approx. 3 m high "palm tree", which were formed by thousands of years of sinter deposition and give the Dechenhöhle its reputation and appearance. In addition to these individual works of art await the interested explorer on the 400 m long guide path, also entire "stalactite walls", such as the famous "organ", which was named because of its shape after the musical instrument. As of 2015, the beautiful stalactites shine in new LED brilliant light. In addition to these natural impressions, there are many other reasons to visit the cave: Children's birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, cave adventure tours and museum family programs during school vacations have been part of the event repertoire for many years. Of course, the annual lantern tours with St. Martin's spectacle, Christmas tours by candlelight and live music, "whisky tastings" or in the spring the famous "Cave Lights", where light artists illuminate the cave magically, are not to be missed. Also the concerts, some of which take place in complete darkness, create a unique sound experience due to the special acoustics.
Arrival by bus & train: MVG bus line 1 or S1 (express bus) to stop "Dechenhöhle"; train line Iserlohn-Hagen or Iserlohn-Essen (RE16/RB91) to stop "Lethmathe-Dechenhöhle" Arrival by car: A46 direction Iserlohn, exit "Iserlohn-Oestrich" follow signs Dechenhöhle approx. 2km. At the traffic lights straight ahead (Untergrüner Straße), after approx. 500m turn left (Schleddestraße), after the tunnel turn right to the cave.
Opening hours: April-October: daily 10am-5pm March+November: daily 10am-4pm December-February: Sat, Sun and holidays (NRW vacations: daily) 10am-4pm each. Entrance fees: Adults 9,00€, children (3-15 years) 6,00€, groups of children (from 10 persons up to 15 years): 5,50€, groups of adults from 20 persons: 8,00€. Discovery: 1868 by railroad workers during rock support work Total length: 900m; guide path: 400m
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The Dechenhöhle includes "The German Cave Museum", the only cave museum in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to numerous bones of ice-age animals, it shows fascinating pictures from the cave world and offers documentation on the largest caves on earth.
Dinosaur bones from Sauerland caves are on display in the museum and dinosaur replicas give a vivid picture of these animals. The baby cave bear skeleton and the forest rhinoceros skull are the showpieces of the ice age bone finds on display. The cave bear receives special attention as a permanent guest. How it lived and what traces it left in caves are shown by means of a large life representation. The children can crawl through a "bear cave". The replica of a cave lion is also impressive. A 5-meter-long wall displays a selection of the famous Stone Age cave paintings from Spain and France. Today's cave wildlife is represented by an aquarium with blind cave fish. Information about cave olms and bats is also vividly presented. How caves are explored today is shown by numerous photos of forays into previously unknown caves - a fascinating adventure in breathtaking snapshots.