Mareminehollet, Natural cave in Rothaugen, Norway.
Mareminehollet is a natural cave in Rothaugen that starts with a 10-meter crawling tunnel opening into a small chamber with limited vertical space. Access is gained by climbing granite steps from Nye Sandviksveien.
The cave formed naturally over a long period. During the 1960s, construction of a bomb shelter intersected the natural formation, which limited how far visitors could explore beyond the initial space.
The cave appears in Ludvig Holberg's 1741 novel 'Niels Klim's Underground Travels', which is considered the first Nordic science fiction work. This literary connection shaped how the place has been viewed and remembered.
The cave is fairly easy to reach and has a platform with benches installed in 1984 for visitors to rest. Comfortable clothing and sturdy footwear are important, especially for the crawling section at the entrance.
Local stories tell of a mermaid that lived in the cave during times of higher sea levels and of underground tunnels supposedly connecting different parts of Bergen. These legends remain part of the area's folklore.
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