Adamkó Péter - Dénes György - Leél-Őssy Szabolcs: The Caves of Buda - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1992)

Fossil clams and sea urchin spines above the Balcony

ters. By now most of these sections have been walled off including two of the cave’s four entrances. An observatory of the Geophysical Institute is located there.

Among the caves of Budapest, the most impressive dissolution features are found in the Mátyás-hegyi Cave (Whitewater Passage, Theatre Hall, Great Chamber). Unfortunately most of the fine-grained gypsum crystals have been destroyed (Treasury, Ruler). “Peastone” formations are insignificant and only very few dripstone formations are present (Whitewater Passage).

However, of particular interest are the fossil remains of worm tubes, sea urchins, and clam shells which can be seen in many places (Great Chamber, Balcony). Calcite crystals with a length of 2-3 cm are also quite common (Giants’ Path, Library).

More than 90 m below the entrance, at the lowest point of the cave, there is a permanent lake in the Triassic limestone. It forms part of the constant karst water table as proved by monitoring its water level for decades.

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