Barbarossa Cave, Natural anhydrite cave and museum in Kyffhäuserland, Germany
The Barbarossa Cave is a show cave and museum in Kyffhäuserland, Germany, that runs through 600 meters of walkable passages filled with underground lakes. The water appears greenish because of dissolved gypsum, which gives the pools their unusual color and creates soft light throughout the tunnels.
Miners working on copper slate found the cave system in 1865 and opened it to visitors the following year as Falkenburger Höhle. The name later changed to honor the Barbarossa legend, which ties closely to the Kyffhäuser area.
Visitors hear about Emperor Frederick Barbarossa during guided walks, as local tradition says he rests somewhere beneath these hills until his country calls him. The name connects the cave to this old tale, which people in the region still tell today.
The temperature inside stays at 9 degrees Celsius year-round, so bring warm clothing even on hot summer days. Access is only possible with a guide who leads groups through the lit passages and past the underground water features.
Only two anhydrite show caves exist worldwide, and this is one of them, with rare sheet-like structures formed during gypsum transformation. This geological feature makes the cave walls a rare example of mineral processes that become visible only under specific conditions.
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