The reasons for protection of the cave

The Jasovska Cave represents complicated cave system in the tectonic faulted complex of the limestones and dolomites. It was shaped in five levels by allochthonous river Bodva. The cave demonstrates a historical evolution of the relation between man and cave in a time range up ten thousands years. It gets function from a primary settlement over a refugal function and a prehistoric factory to today's object of the science research and the tourist attraction. Remarkable is the dripstone signed a massive impression. The cave is a significant winter shelter of the bats.

The dripstone decoration is frequent (42kB).

The impairs of the original status

The some damages in the cave passages were caused by frequent works to make a cave accessible in the past. We consider as most mark:

a temporary unstability limestone blocks as a consequence of the blasting operations for an entrance tunnel driving
some destructions of the dripstones caused by a drying of the clay substrate
an expansion of the lampenflora in the show part of the cave.

Numerous negative footprints on the cave passages and their decoration were left till then the Jasovska Cave was proclaimed to the Nature Protected Phenomena (and its protection by law has been ensured). It's, for example, the passage arrangements during its accessible making or various excavation works connected with the exploring activities and with the chance visits in the cave.

The protection steps

The law protection of the cave is provided from the 1972 year, when the cave was proclaimed the Nature Protected Phenomena. In 1995 all caves in Slovakia have been proclaimed the national monuments by law. The Management of the Slovak karst Protected Landscape Area, The District Administration for the Environment of the Kosice-country district and The Management of the Slovak Show Caves are responsible for a protection of the cave. The research of the hydrological relations in the cave was realized in 1976. The research of the limestone massif stability was gone in 1979-1982, when one confirms no peril of the cave. In last years the microbiological measurements of the air in cave were realized.

The cave is closed by steel doors. A periodic monitoring of the state of the cave is going. A part of cave is shown for public and an access in the other parts is possible with a permit of the Management of the Slovak Shown Caves.

The protection of this specific karst geosystem is provided also due the Protection zone of the Nature Protected Phenomena as well in frame of then Protected Landscape Area Slovak karst, what is involved to the international network of the biosphere reservation.

SLOVAKIA CAVE SERVER prepared by Eduard Kladiva (Old Cave Dog) from Speleoclub CASSOVIA . Please send all comments, notes and corrections on e-mail kladiva@saske.sk.