Hohle Fels Cave

From outside, Hohle Fels looks unremarkable: a pale limestone crag at the edge of the Ach valley, with a gated entrance at its foot. Yet this cave near Schelklingen has yielded some of the oldest artworks and musical instruments known. In 2008, archaeologists from the University of Tübingen found the Venus of Hohle Fels here, a figurine just 6 cm tall carved from mammoth ivory, and an almost complete flute made from the bone of a griffon vulture. Both are at least 35,000 years old.

The cave: a huge "bread oven" hall

Beyond a passage about 30 m long, a hall opens up to 30 m high, with a floor area of 500 m² and a volume of around 6,000 m³, one of the largest cave halls in the Swabian Jura. Its shape gives it the name "bread oven cave". Since 2017 Hohle Fels has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura", together with five other caves in the Ach and Lone valleys.

History: from fertiliser to World Heritage

In 1830 a potter digging for clay came across cave bear bones. In 1844 a manufacturer removed bat guano and cave earth as fertiliser; the clay contained about 19 per cent phosphate. The first scientific dig by Oscar Fraas in 1870/71 uncovered remains of cave bear, reindeer, mammoth and wild horse, and a whole railway wagon of finds went to Stuttgart. The University of Tübingen has excavated here since 1977, led since 1997 by Nicholas Conard. By 2016 more than 80,000 stone tools and almost 300 ornaments had been recovered.

What was found here

• Venus of Hohle Fels: This female figure in mammoth ivory is one of the oldest known depictions of a human being.
• Vulture-bone flute: Made from a griffon vulture's wing bone, it survives to a length of 21.8 cm.
• Small animal figures: a 4.7 cm water bird, an otter found in 2023 and a miniature "lion man".
• Tools: a perforated baton of mammoth ivory, probably used to twist fibres into rope.

You will not see the originals in the cave itself; they are kept in museums. In the cave, you stand where the excavations take place.

Opening hours and prices (2026 season)

• Season: 1 May to 31 October. From 1 May to 29 July and 14 September to 31 October, Fridays 14:00–17:00, Saturdays and Sundays 11:00–17:00. During the holiday period from 30 July to 13 September, also Wednesdays and Thursdays 14:00–17:00.
• Admission without a tour: €4.50, children aged 6 to 17 €2, families €10. Cash only at the ticket hut.
• Public tour: every Saturday at 11:45, no booking needed, €7 for adults, about an hour.
• Winter: The cave is closed from November to April.

Inside it is about 9 °C, damp and dim. Sturdy shoes are compulsory and dogs are not allowed. The main hall can be reached by wheelchair with assistance, though not every part of the cave.

Getting there

The cave is about 1 km east of Schelklingen old town in the Alb-Donau district. The visitor car park is reached via the street "Auf dem Hauchen", and the town gives the sat-nav coordinates 48.3798, 9.7518. Public toilets are on the access road.

Tripto tip

Combine Hohle Fels with the Blautopf spring in Blaubeuren, only a few kilometres away, to link the cave where Ice Age art was found with the famous blue source of the river Blau. Next to the cave entrance is a barbecue area for a break.