Adamkó Péter - Dénes György - Leél-Őssy Szabolcs: The Caves of Buda - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1992)
of days later when a slim, young lady managed to pass through. Her name is remembered on a commemorative plaque. Surveying was completed quickly and the first descriptions of the cave were published. Within a few years the cave was developed to some extent: a stairwell was built from the entrance to the Giant Corridor and the narrow passages were widened. CJnfortunately the cave was abandoned for a long period of time after World War II and that was when the heaviest damage occurred. In 1958 the entrance was closed and exploratory excavations were resumed. Still in that year the debris blocking the upper southwestern end of the Giant Corridor were removed and the more than 200 m long Heart of Earth section was discovered. New sections were also found behind the Crawl. In the following years detailed mapping and precise surveying was undertaken with the addition of some new discoveries. Today the total known length of the cave is more than 2 km. An interesting scientific experiment was carried out in 1967. Eight people, experienced cavers as well as amateurs, lived in the depths of the cave for a month without a timepiece. When the party came up after 30 days they thought they had spent only twenty-six days in the cave! Work for developing the cave for the general public began in 1974 and the first visitors were received in 1986. Treatment for patients of respiratory illness is also carried out in the cave. Before the therapeutical program was started, a lengthy discussion focused on the questions of using the cave for medical and touristic purposes at the same time. Since then many patients’ condition has improved owing to the speleotherapy. Air quality tests inside the cave proved that, despite the presence of visitors and the infiltration of polluted rainwater, the air still meets or surpasses the Western European sterility standards for operating-rooms. Exploration within the cave and in the surrounding areas has been carried on. Surface openings with <7 Fork in the Giant Corridor 26
