ABOUT THE CAVE
Magura cave is one of the miracles of Bulgarian nature. It is situated in the Northwest of Bulgaria, in
Stara planina mountain, some 180 km from the capital of
Sofia, 17km away from the town of
Belogradchik, 1,5km from the village of Rabisha, and 35km southwest of the town of
Vidin on the
Danube.
It is hollowed out in the Rabisha hill limestone, 461m above sea level. The Magura cave is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria. The total length of the galleries, discovered till now, exceeds 2500 m. It consists of one main gallery, pointing southeast - northwest and three side branches. The cave disposes of 10 different in size halls and it is long 3 km. The cave-halls are enormous in size. Each one of them is over 200m long, more than 50m wide and over 20m high.
Next to the cave is the
Rabisha Lake - the largest inland lake in Bulgaria.
The Magura cave and its surroundings are proclaimed a natural landmark and a national tourist site.
FORMATIONS IN THE CAVE
The cave has fantastic formations - stalactites, stalagmites, stalctones, cave pearls, “cave milk”. Some of them are impressive both with their beauty and size. “The Big Stalctone” is over 20m high and has a diameter of 4m at its base. “The Fallen Pine” is the biggest stalagmite in the Bulgarian caves explored till now. It is over 11m long and has a diameter of 6m at its base.
The formation of the Magura cave started 15 million years ago. It is a typical example of a cave formed in an alogenic karst. 3 stages of the cave’s formation are distinguished. Evidence for that fact is the asymmetric plan of the cave. Its side halls and corridors have formed in the southwestern part of the Rabisha hill, where once has flowed the water that formed the Magura cave.
THE PREHISTORICAL MAN IN THE CAVE
Pearls of the cave are the unique paintings on stone, done in bat guano. They are multi layered and come from different epochs - The Epupaleolith, The Neolith, The Eneolith, the beginning of The Early Bronze Age. The paintings in the Magura cave represent dancing women, dancing and hunting men, disguised men, large variety of animals, suns, stars, instruments of labour, plants and etc. The Solar calendar from The Late Eneolith and some later additions, made during The Early Bronze age are quite accurate. Through pictures information about religious events and feasts along with their symbols and particular personages have been saved.
Some of the images are very complex compositions and hint about the diversity of ideas in a world extremely rich in intellectual and spiritual aspect. The Magura’s drawings define its function as a temple for a long period of time - from The Neolith till the Iron age.
Description
