Wildenmannlisloch, Paleolithic living cave in Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann, Switzerland.
Wildenmannlisloch is a limestone cave on the northern slope of the Churfirsten range at approximately 1640 meters elevation. It extends roughly 142 meters into the rock and contains chambers large enough to have sheltered people for long periods.
The cave served as shelter for hunters during the Stone Age and was later studied by archaeologists. Excavations in the 1920s uncovered cave bear bones and tools roughly 40000 years old, revealing how people lived at that time.
The name reflects the long human use of this place during the Stone Age, when hunters sought shelter here. Today visitors can understand how people lived and survived in this underground space thousands of years ago.
The cave is reached via marked hiking trails from Selamattstrasse, located north of the Selun peak. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and be prepared for steep and sometimes damp terrain.
Deep inside the cave there is a spacious chamber that was once large enough for horses and wagons to enter. This detail shows how people used natural spaces and reveals the scale of some cavern rooms.
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