Google Earth Community: Vapor cave - Dunsthöhle Bad Pyrmont, Germany

Hello

The vapor cave in Bad Pyrmont, Lower Saxony, Germany is a very unique nature phenomenon and a tourist atraction fore more than 200 years, and it's the only one in europe. The cave is located at the area of a former quarry where red sandstone was broken. When the workers reached a certain depth they noticed a "vapor" and the workers who took some deep breath (6 to 8) passed out (the fell asleep). Time after time the workers found dead birds and other dead animals at the ground of the pit. When I was a child, i was told that the cave has been used by some poeple for suicide. For that reason the cave can only be visited in escort of a guide and with minimum 2 visitors.

In the year 1712 the physician Dr. Johann Philipp Seip came to Bad Pyrmont and he wanted to find out whats behind that mystery. He assumed that it is sulfur vapor, it seems he never hear about carbon dioxide. He made some courageous attempts on himself like "repeated sweating" and came to the result that "There is no poisonous nature inside, not all all". However this is not harmless.

With permission of the Sovereign of Pyrmont (Fürst Friedrich Anton Ulrich zu Waldeck und Pyrmont) Dr. Johann Philipp Seip established a sweating bath for poeple who are for cure in Bad Pyrmont. And since that time some reports are known that speak about relief of some diseases like articular gout, swelling feet and others.

What happens here is that the carbon dioxide withdraws dry through the cracks and clefts in the sandstone. The vapor can not be seen because it is color and odorless. The carbon dioxide is more heavily than surrounding air and collects itself therefore like a lake at the soil of the pit. Already for more than 200 years they make experiments with burning candles and soap bubbles in the cave. The candles go out when they reach the CO2 and the soap bubbles swim on the lake of carbon dioxide and it looks like they levitate while they dazzle and fluoresce much more than otherwise.

The CO2 has a special thermal property. The temperature of the gas in the vapor cave is clearly cool in the summer, 31 degrees Celsius air temperature but only 16 degrees Celsius CO2 temperature. And in the winter it's turned around, -1,2 degrees Celsius air temperature, +2.1 degrees Celsius CO2 temperature. Although, in the summer the CO2 gas gives you a warm feeling on your skin caused of a blood circulation-promoting effect. In addition the gas can help allergic persons with asthma or it helps healing bad wounds.

Image and info source: Staatsbad-Pyrmont.de
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Esperanto.de

"The strange vapor cave in the proximity of the place Pyrmont, where the gas, wich connected with water has strongly healing affects to the human body, for itself forms invisibly a deadly atmosphere, arranged some attempts, which are served for the amusement."

Goethe 1801 (Tag- und Jahreshefte)

Greetings Felippo

Edited by Felippo (11/11/07 02:01 PM)

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