The Matsocha abyss in the Czech Republic. Excursion to the Moravian beauty and Macocha abyss

The Moravian Karst is one of the most significant classical karst areas in Europe. The caves of the Moravian Karst are one of the most important parts of the cultural and natural wealth Czech Republic. The unique complex was declared a nature reserve in 1956.

The Punkevne Caves are one of the areas of the Moravian Karst open to visitors. They represent one of the largest and most complex cave systems. The Punkva caves were formed by the waters of the underground Punkva River already in ancient times.

The caves have two independent parts of the inspection, which are connected by the Macocha abyss. The first, so-called. the “dry” part, 810 meters long, was discovered by Professor Karl Absolon and his colleagues in 1909-1914. The second part, where inspection is carried out from boats sailing along the underground Punkva River, was opened in 1920-1933. Its length is 440 meters.

In the first part of the inspection you will see bizarre stalactites, stalagmites and even the result of their fusion - a stalagnate. You can admire cave lakes and even see an angel.

One of the stops will be the impressive Macocha Abyss. Its depth is 138.4 meters. It arose as a result of a breach. The debris blocked the flow of the Punkva River and thus two small lakes appeared. Through Upper Lake, whose depth is 13 meters, the underground river Punkva flows and flows into the Lower Lake, which is 49 meters deep. The Matsohu abyss can be seen from two bridges. The Upper one is located at an altitude of 138 meters above the Lower Lake. The lower bridge is at an altitude of 90 meters. Researchers used to descend from this bridge to the bottom of the abyss.

The first descent into the Macocha abyss was witnessed in 1723. The name of the abyss arose in the 17th century based on the following legend. In the nearby village of Vilemovice there lived a widower and his son. The widower married a second time and brought home his stepmother. When the stepmother had her own son, she wanted to get rid of the stepmother. One day she lured him into the forest to collect forest fruits. When they approached the edge of the abyss, his stepmother pushed him down. But the boy miraculously caught on to the bushes. The lumberjacks, hearing the cry, came to the aid of the child and saved him. Having learned about this and fearing that she would be punished, the stepmother herself threw herself into this abyss. Since then, the abyss has been called Matsokha (stepmother-matsekha-matsokha).

The bottom of the abyss is a nature reserve with strictly protected alpine flora. They grow here unique species fern.

The second part of the inspection of the Punkevny Caves will take place from boats. You will ride along an underground river, the depth of which will vary from 1 to 40 meters. Water temperature is 4-10 degrees, air temperature is 8-12 degrees all year round.

Punkevny caves are open all year round. From January to March and from October to December, excursion hours are from 8:40 to 14:00, closed on Mondays. From April to September, opening hours are from 8:20 to 16:00, Mondays from 10:00 to 16:00.

Excursion cost: for adults - 170 CZK, for children - 90 CZK.

More detailed information in Russian you can find out on the Punkevni Caves website www.caves.cz/ru/jeskyne/punkevni-jeskyne/.

How to travel to Prague cheaper? Let's share secrets.

March 18th, 2012 , 08:17 am

The next point of our trip to the Czech Republic was unique place called “Moravian Kras” is one of the largest karst massifs in Europe, 25 km long and 2-6 km wide. It is located 30 km. northeast of the Czech city of Brno. To get to Moravian Karst, you need to move to Vilemovice and then to the place indicated on the map as “Chata Macocha”.

At first I thought that “kras” came from the word “beautiful”, but in fact it means “karst”, i.e. karst rocks. As we learned already on the way, we visited all the Czech attractions literally on the last possible day - from November 1, they are all closed “for the winter.” We were also very lucky with the weather - all seven days of our trip at the end of October were mostly sunny and never rained.

We move from the city of Hustopece, through Brno and further through villages hidden in forest thickets and hills (click on the photo to open them in full size).

The signs point to Matsocha - this is the abyss that is the main attraction of this massif.

At the entrance we pass the village of Křtiny, where for some reason there is a majestic Roman Catholic church named after Panna Maria from the 18th century, towering over the village.

Finally we are there. Driving through this area by car is prohibited. We park the car in a guarded parking lot in front of the entrance (50 CZK per day) and move to the beginning of the route. In front of us is Matsokha’s hut.

I believe that this is one of the most successful and exciting tourist places. It will give a head start to any other attractions where you can go with children. A lot of interesting things are concentrated in a small area - an abyss, a cable car, a children's train, boats and caves. Hut Matsokha is located at the very top. Here we buy tickets for everything that awaits us below, and take the cable car that will take us down.

The cable car is very small, it just takes us down in 2 minutes, but it goes at a very sharp angle - the children squealed with delight!

The most high point this massif is 734 meters. The lowest point of the Moravian Karst has a depth of 138 m (the Macocha abyss, literally “Stepmother”). It was formed after the collapse of the ceiling of a large cave, and along the bottom of which flows the Punkva River, flowing into a small lake. Now we will go into the cave and look at the abyss from the bottom up, from the very bottom, and only then we will climb to the very top again.

Here we are below. The first stop is the Punkevni cave, through which the Punkva river flows.

This route through the cave is unique in that first we will go down into the darkness, then we will emerge into the light of day, then we will board the boats and then sail out on them. Here, in fact, is the exit from the cave. There is a net on top to prevent leaves from falling into the water.

A group gathers here and is led by a guide through the dark corridors and nooks of this dungeon. Unlike the salt mine in Wieliczka, Poland, where there are tours in several languages, including Russian, in Punkiewni there is only “czesztina”. Therefore, I try to keep up with my translator wife. Let's go in...

The guide tells the story in a fascinating, fun and very fast manner. Just have time to ask for a translation and shoot.

The cave is large, with ups and downs, fields of intricate stalactites-stalagmites (and yes, also stalagnates). Matvey was also given a flashlight the day before - he was absolutely delighted. Previously, the cave was all in water, but then the water went away. But periodically the cave floods. They check it every day to see if everything is secure, whether there is water or signs of landslides.

These two handsome men will never meet - they dried up. But in general they grow only a few millimeters per year.

Throughout most of the cave there is a staircase, in this place it was called the “infarction staircase”.

I won’t bore you with numerous dark photos, but here is one unique one. This formation was called “archangel” - he really stands like an archangel, with his wings outstretched...

Finally we enter a very narrow tunnel (some places were artificially pierced), so that later...

... to be on the surface - at the bottom of the Matsohi cave!

The impression is simply amazing - after wandering for a long time through the dark labyrinths of the cave, you suddenly come out into the bright light, and the bright green grass at the bottom of the abyss and the sun beating from above catches your eye! An unforgettable experience, it immediately reminded us of the story about a journey to the center of the earth, when after a long underground journey a new world suddenly opens up.

We took a few photos, and the guide is already calling everyone back to the dungeon, but then our journey will continue in these boats, which experienced boatswains will skillfully guide along a narrow underground river.

It wouldn't hurt to read the safety instructions. The main thing is not to put your hands on the side of the boat, if it’s on the edge, and to lower your head when the boatswain shouts.

To be honest, I didn’t follow - Matvey grabbed the edge with his hand, and only the neighbors shouted - “Damn your hands!” (like “give your hands off”). The fact is that often the side of the boat hits a rock - you can completely crush your fingers. And the boatswain shouts: “Head to the left” or “Head to the right,” but here it is clear even without words - at turns there is a rock above your head, and you need to dodge.

But even during the rafting along this river there was a stop to look at the internal cavities of the cave, which could not be reached in any other way.

And finally we emerge into the light of day...

At the bottom there is the “Rock Mill”, or rock mill, there is a restaurant and a cafe where you can have a snack, and a souvenir shop.

Having refreshed ourselves, we go to another cave, which is located below and is called “Katerzynska Jaskinia” (Katerina’s Cave).

It turned out that this was the last tour on the last day of the 2011 season - as a result, we were the only visitors and received a personal tour.

Here are a couple more photos from the Katerina Cave.

And look at this fragment of the wall. Doesn't remind you of anything?

This old woman is a natural formation, only her staff is a stalactite that broke off somewhere, which speleologists placed here.

There is a legend that once upon a time parents and their son lived in a nearby village, and when the mother died, the father remarried. But the stepmother disliked her stepson and decided to get rid of him. She brought him to the edge of the abyss and pushed him down. But the boy caught on the branches and did not fall. He began to call for help, and the hunters heard him. They pulled the guy out, and when the crime was revealed, the stepmother (in Czech, “matsokha”) was captured and thrown to the bottom of this abyss. This is where the name comes from...

On the left in the photo you can see the lower bridge, we will go down there too.

There are two observation bridges - “Dolny Mustek” and “Mountain Mustik”

The green clearing below is where we came out of the cave to the surface and looked up.

“Built with funds from the branch of the Czech Tourists Club in Brno.”

And this is a view of the upper bridge.

We spent most of the day here and had a lot of impressions. But it's time for us to hit the road again. Brno and Slavkov-Austerlitz are still waiting for us. On the way back we drove closer to the church, but there was no time to go in. Czech Wikipedia reports that pilgrims to the sculpture of the Virgin Mary have been going to this village since ancient times. For example, in 1720, as many as 41 thousand people gathered here.

The deepest hole is located in the center Europe. Many years local residents They thought that the abyss simply had no bottom. But soon a huge hole located near Czech city Brno, has been explored, and now tourists come here...

If you're standing on the edge Matsohi, look down, you can see a lake sparkling at the bottom of the pit. Well, if you believe the legends, it definitely has no bottom! Matsokha remained unexplored for a long time and dangerous place. The name of the pit is translated only as “stepmother”. According to an ancient Czech legend, one day the stepmother pushed her stepson into this pit, but then, realizing her sin, she threw herself down. But this story has a happy ending: the boy was saved by being removed from one of the roots, which he clung to during the flight.

For many years they tried to explore the ominous pit, but all attempts led to one result: the bottom Matsohi No. In 1856, a brave explorer found the bottom of the pit, and since then the study of the abyss has been even more active. Gradually Matsokha revealed all her secrets to the man. Having measured the depth of the abyss, the researchers were surprised - Makhotsa went 138 meters deep into the earth. The depth of the “bottomless” lake was determined to be 13 meters. As it turned out, at the bottom of Matsokha there are two lakes and one river! The depth of the second lake exceeded the first by 15 meters. Now along the lakes and river Matsohi Excursion boats pass by. Traveling along the bottom of the abyss is an unforgettable event: weak rays of sunlight make their way to the bottom of the abyss, and a narrow strip of the crevice glows overhead. Matsokha was once an underground cave, unknown to man. But over time, its ceiling and, partially, the walls collapsed, revealing an amazing and ominous abyss to the world. Now look into the time underground cave It’s not difficult: two viewing platforms have been built above the pit.


At the beginning of the last century, next to the failure Matsokha a number of massive grottoes were discovered, which were named Punkevni caves. These caves are considered the most picturesque in the Czech Republic.

The next point of our trip to the Czech Republic was a unique place called “Moravian Karst” - one of the largest karst massifs in Europe, 25 km long and 2-6 km wide. It is located 30 km. northeast of the Czech city of Brno. To get to Moravian Karst, you need to move to Vilemovice and then to the place indicated on the map as “Chata Macocha”.

At first I thought that “kras” came from the word “beautiful”, but in fact it means “karst”, i.e. karst rocks. As we learned already on the way, we visited all the Czech attractions literally on the last possible day - from November 1, they are all closed “for the winter.” We were also very lucky with the weather - all seven days of our trip at the end of October were mostly sunny and never rained.

We move from the city of Hustopece, through Brno and further through villages hidden in forest thickets and hills (click on the photo to open them in full size).

The signs point to Matsocha - this is the abyss that is the main attraction of this massif.

At the entrance we pass the village of Křtiny, where for some reason there is a majestic Roman Catholic church named after Panna Maria from the 18th century, towering over the village.

Finally we are there. Driving through this area by car is prohibited. We park the car in a guarded parking lot in front of the entrance (50 CZK per day) and move to the beginning of the route. In front of us is Matsokha’s hut.

I believe that this is one of the most successful and exciting tourist places. It will give a head start to any other attractions where you can go with children. A lot of interesting things are concentrated in a small area - an abyss, a cable car, a children's train, boats and caves. Hut Matsokha is located at the very top. Here we buy tickets for everything that awaits us below, and take the cable car that will take us down.

The cable car is very small, it just takes us down in 2 minutes, but it goes at a very sharp angle - the children squealed with delight!

The highest point of this massif is 734 meters. The lowest point of the Moravian Karst has a depth of 138 m (the Macocha abyss, literally “Stepmother”). It was formed after the collapse of the ceiling of a large cave, and along the bottom of which flows the Punkva River, flowing into a small lake. Now we will go into the cave and look at the abyss from the bottom up, from the very bottom, and only then we will climb to the very top again.

Here we are below. The first stop is the Punkevni cave, through which the Punkva river flows.

This route through the cave is unique in that first we will go down into the darkness, then we will emerge into the light of day, then we will board the boats and then sail out on them. Here, in fact, is the exit from the cave. There is a net on top to prevent leaves from falling into the water.

A group gathers here and is led by a guide through the dark corridors and nooks of this dungeon. Unlike, where there are excursions in several languages, including Russian, in Punkevni there is only “Cheshtina”. Therefore, I try to keep up with my translator wife. Let's go in...

The guide tells the story in a fascinating, fun and very fast manner. Just have time to ask for a translation and shoot.

The cave is large, with ups and downs, fields of intricate stalactites-stalagmites (and yes, also stalagnates). Matvey was also given a flashlight the day before - he was absolutely delighted. Previously, the cave was all in water, but then the water went away. But periodically the cave floods. They check it every day to see if everything is secure, whether there is water or signs of landslides.

These two handsome men will never meet - they dried up. But in general they grow only a few millimeters per year.

Throughout most of the cave there is a staircase, in this place it was called the “infarction staircase”.

I won’t bore you with numerous dark photos, but here is one unique one. This formation was called “archangel” - he really stands like an archangel, with his wings outstretched...

Finally we enter a very narrow tunnel (some places were artificially pierced), so that later...

... to be on the surface - at the bottom of the Matsohi cave!

The impression is simply amazing - after wandering for a long time through the dark labyrinths of the cave, you suddenly come out into the bright light, and the bright green grass at the bottom of the abyss and the sun beating from above catches your eye! An unforgettable experience, it immediately reminded us of the story about a journey to the center of the earth, when after a long underground journey a new world suddenly opens up.

We took a few photos, and the guide is already calling everyone back to the dungeon, but then our journey will continue in these boats, which experienced boatswains will skillfully guide along a narrow underground river.

It wouldn't hurt to read the safety instructions. The main thing is not to put your hands on the side of the boat, if it’s on the edge, and to lower your head when the boatswain shouts.

To be honest, I didn’t follow - Matvey grabbed the edge with his hand, and only the neighbors shouted - “Damn your hands!” (like “give your hands off”). The fact is that often the side of the boat hits a rock - you can completely crush your fingers. And the boatswain shouts: “Head to the left” or “Head to the right,” but here it is clear even without words - at turns there is a rock above your head, and you need to dodge.

But even during the rafting along this river there was a stop to look at the internal cavities of the cave, which could not be reached in any other way.

And finally we emerge into the light of day...

At the bottom there is the “Rock Mill”, or rock mill, there is a restaurant and a cafe where you can have a snack, and a souvenir shop.

Having refreshed ourselves, we go to another cave, which is located below and is called “Katerzynska Jaskinia” (Katerina’s Cave).

It turned out that this was the last tour on the last day of the 2011 season - as a result, we were the only visitors and received a personal tour.

Here are a couple more photos from the Katerina Cave.

And look at this fragment of the wall. Doesn't remind you of anything? 🙂

This old woman is a natural formation, only her staff is a stalactite that broke off somewhere, which speleologists placed here.

There is a legend that once upon a time parents and their son lived in a nearby village, and when the mother died, the father remarried. But the stepmother disliked her stepson and decided to get rid of him. She brought him to the edge of the abyss and pushed him down. But the boy caught on the branches and did not fall. He began to call for help, and the hunters heard him. They pulled the guy out, and when the crime was revealed, the stepmother (in Czech, “matsokha”) was captured and thrown to the bottom of this abyss. This is where the name comes from...

On the left in the photo you can see the lower bridge, we will go down there too.

There are two observation bridges - “Dolny Mustek” and “Mountain Mustik”

The green clearing below is where we came out of the cave to the surface and looked up.

“Built with funds from the branch of the Czech Tourists Club in Brno.”

And this is a view of the upper bridge.

We spent most of the day here and had a lot of impressions. But it's time for us to hit the road again. Brno and Slavkov-Austerlitz are still waiting for us. On the way back we drove closer to the church, but there was no time to go in. Czech Wikipedia reports that pilgrims to the sculpture of the Virgin Mary have been going to this village since ancient times. For example, in 1720, as many as 41 thousand people gathered here.

Punve caves are located in the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic, north of the city of Brno, which is about a three-hour drive from Prague. These caves were discovered in 1909 by Professor Karel Absolon together with a group of assistants. They began their search near the Macocha abyss, known back in the 17th century, and they discovered not just one cave, but a whole system of caves. An excursion to the Punkevny Caves includes an approach to the Macocha Abyss from below, but you can also approach it from above.

Macocha Abyss

Translated from Czech “matsoha” means “stepmother”. There is a legend associated with this place: once, a long time ago, a man and his son, who had lost his wife, decided to get married a second time. During their marriage, they had a second son, who was not in good health: he was sick and ill. And the mother turned to the witch, who said: that the first son, the step-son, takes all the strength and health from her own child, so she needs to get rid of the first one. She disliked her stepson and decided to get rid of him - she took him into the forest to pick mushrooms and berries, led him to the edge of the abyss and pushed him down.

However, the boy survived, getting caught in the bushes, began to call for help, and was rescued.

The stepmother, not knowing about this, came home and saw the lifeless body of her son - he died while she was getting rid of her stepson. In despair, the mother took her child, ran to the abyss and threw herself down. Since then the abyss has been called “Matsokha”.

At the bottom of the abyss there are two lakes: Gornoye (depth 13 meters) and Nizhneye, which can be seen from below on an excursion, its depth is 49 meters. Sometimes they connect and you can see as if there is only one lake. Here, at the bottom of the abyss, a constant microclimate will remain with an air temperature of 8 degrees and a humidity of more than 90%.

Excursion to Punkevnye Caves

Almost immediately after the opening of the caves, this place began to be visited by tourists. Later, the caves were equipped for visiting: lights were installed here, fortifications were made, observation platforms and corridors were made, and an excursion route was fully developed.

Since this place is one of the most visited in the Czech Republic, you need to pre-book an excursion with a visit to the underground river and buy it at certain time. I wrote by email [email protected].

Schedule of caves at the office. website: http://www.caves.cz/ru/jeskyne/punkevni-jeskyne/

First, the excursion goes along a pedestrian path, the guide speaks Czech, so it is better to read the text of the excursion on a piece of paper that will be given out at the tourist center in advance to know what it is about. There will be no time to read in the cave.

During the excursions we visit the Macocha Abyss from below. Here you can see a lake with water of a very beautiful color.

Then everyone boards flat-bottomed boats and the tour continues along the underground river. It is very interesting because you are floating through a narrow gorge. While I was trying to photograph something (I never succeeded - it was too dark), I almost killed myself - the ceiling is very low and narrow, you need to bend your head and sit closer to the center. While I was looking at the camera, I almost crashed into a rock at full speed - but, thank God, my head was bent down by the tourist sitting behind me. Then the girl in front of me was bent down by others, but it was scary to watch - while the boat was moving, “fitting” into the hanging rocks... On the “pier” it is written: “Do not take photographs,” which means not taking photographs is dangerous!

We disembarked from the boat, looked at another hall, then sat down and sailed further, to the exit. The excursion ended in the same place where we started it, only we entered on foot and left by boat.

Cost of visit: 170 CZK (pedestrian part + boat).

How to get to Punkevny Caves and Macocha Abyss on your own?

The simplest option

Since public transport requires taking a train, bus or walking, the easiest way to get to Punkevnye Caves is with an organized excursion or a rented car. Fortunately, buses depart from Prague almost every day to both the Moravian Kras and the Macocha Abyss, there are also individual tours:

• - the excursion includes travel to the caves, a walk along the underground river in the cave, a visit to the castle of local aristocrats, excursion services. The duration of the excursion is 11 hours.
• - approximately the same program as above, only the duration is not 11, but 12 hours and the car carries up to 3 passengers.

On your own using public transport

Independent route from Prague: Prague - Blanco - Skalny Mlyn - Macocha - Caves.

From Prague you need to get to Blansko. You can take the train, for example at 9:17 from Praha hl.n. ( main station) to Blansko by train R 865 Rudolf T?snohl?dek. Travel time is more than 2.5 hours. It is better to print out the list of stops before Blansko in advance so that you know exactly where to get off. .

At the railway platform in Blansko is immediately located bus stop, where you need to take the bus to Skalny Mlyn - bus 226 Krasobus. For the schedule, see the Krasobus website.

When I was there and waited about 40 minutes, it turned out that the bus will come in another hour. And since I had a booked time to buy the ticket, I took a taxi. There, at the station, there is a taxi car with a telephone number written on it (here is the number from another advertisement: 723 52 72 72, Czech Republic code +420). You need to call. It takes about 10 minutes to get to Skalny Mlyn, the fare is approx. 180 CZK.

Why did I go to Skalny Mlyn? So they wrote to me by email. mail from the cave staff, but in 2015 there was a renovation there and getting from Skalny Mlyn to the entrance to the caves (near the Macocha Abyss) was only possible on foot - 2 km through the forest. Although in normal times there are trains and horses running there. Perhaps there was an option to travel from Blansko directly to Matsokha by another bus or by taxi, but the employee wrote that you need to go specifically to Skalny Mlyn. You can buy tickets both in Skalny Mlyn and in the tourist center near the Macocha Chasm.

In Skalny Mlyn you can buy a ticket to visit Katerzhinskaya (Katerinskaya) Cave. It is located 300 meters from tourist center in Skalny Mlyn. But to visit several caves at once, you need to arrive early.

From Skalny Mlyn to Punkevny Caves (first Macocha) you need to follow the path, which is located a little further along the road after the tourist center on the left. There is a sign for it - walk 2 km, first up, then along a flat road. In the forest I came across a snake (not a snake).

From the Macocha abyss (above) to the entrance to the Punkevny caves you need to go down cable car(on the right behind the tourist center). Cost 90 CZK round trip for adults, 70 CZK for children. Children under 3 years old are free. Opening hours are from 8:00 to 17:00.

Tourist center near the Macocha Abyss: here you need to buy tickets to the caves, have lunch and relax.

Here, near the tourist center, there is the Macocha abyss (upper part) and a small Observation deck. From above it is not impressive.

After taking the cable car down (the ride takes 2 minutes), you need to walk along the path to the booth. All the tourists gather around it, waiting for the start of the excursion. Then the guide comes and picks up the group. Please note: to the left of the booth, behind the bench, there is a gap to the rock - it is cold near it even on the hottest day. It is worth putting on the warm clothes you have stored in advance. I put on a hat, sweater, socks and jacket. Here, while you wait for your time, you can read the text of the excursion.

Important:

• It is recommended to book the boat excursion in advance as... the number of boats is limited (although in 2015, when I was there during road repairs on a weekday, there was no need for this - there were still free boats);
• Be sure to take warm clothes with you, because... the temperature inside the cave is about 7 degrees;
• Read the text of the tour in advance before entering the cave.

reference Information