Chýnovská jeskyně, Cave in Dolní Hořice, Czech Republic

Chýnovská jeskyně, also called the Painted Cave, is a karst cave in the Czech Republic. Its walls show bands of white, yellow, and brown limestone mixed with dark amphibolite, and the underground route goes down to 42 meters (138 feet) below the surface.

The cave was discovered by accident in 1863 when a quarry worker lost his hammer in a crack. It opened to the public five years later, becoming the first show cave in the Czech lands, and a new visitor center opened in 2022.

Locals sometimes call it the Painted Cave because of the colors in the rock. The name Chýnovská comes from the town of Chýnov nearby, and the cave has been a source of local pride since it opened to the public.

The cave is open to visitors outside the winter months, when it serves as a bat hibernation site. The guided route is easy to follow, but the underground path has some steps and uneven ground, so wear shoes with good grip.

The cave is a major winter shelter for Natterer's bats, hosting the largest natural hibernation site for this species in Europe. In the 1990s, divers found large flooded chambers with quartz crystals, and later mapping created a 3D model of these spaces.