Teufelskirche von Grünsberg, Natural gorge and geotope in Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Germany.
The Teufelskirche gorge is a roughly 350-meter-long canyon with approximately 100-meter-wide sandstone cliffs and several waterfalls draped in thick ivy growth. The valley floor runs through woodland and is enclosed by steep walls of soft sandstone.
The gorge developed through mining activities that started in 1525 when workers extracted coal and silver from pyrite. This created three tunnels carved into the soft sandstone, permanently shaping the landscape.
The gorge takes its name from a local legend about the devil driving through with Knight Jörg von Tann, who died while poaching in the area. This tale shapes how people connect with the place and the stories they tell about it.
The gorge is accessible year-round through marked hiking trails starting from Altdorf or Grünsberg. The site sits at about 405 meters elevation and can be explored comfortably on most days.
Inside the main tunnel at about the halfway point sits a roughly 3-meter-high mineral deposit with small basins displaying various color tones from different minerals. This formation is unusual and only develops under specific conditions in the rock.
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