Coves del Drach

Interior

The Coves del Drac ( Castilian Cuevas del Drach, " Caves of the Dragon " ) is a cave system on the east coast of the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca. The caves are located in the municipality of Manacor south of the resort of Porto Cristo.

The Majorcan in the region ( comarca ) Llevant nearby caves have the largest underground lake in Europe. The accessible cave system in which there are six other lakes, extends over a length of 1700 meters.

History

It was approximately 3000 years knew the inhabitants of Majorca by the existence of the Coves del Drac. Prehistoric finds very close to the cave revealed not only the half of a household talayotic settlement, but also access to this cave. Even her name bears witness to the general knowledge of the natives to the underground shelter system. It is said that pirates and the Templars had there, this is the reading, their treasures guard commanded a dragon. But neither the natives of Mallorca still the pirates have ever ventured more than 200 meters into the cave, as far as the outcome was still visible.

Only in 1339 was commissioned a group of soldiers on the orders of the Governor of Majorca, to search the Dragon's Den for the lost treasure of the Templars. It was suspected after the defeat of the powerful Order, to find the treasure there. It created the first records and maps. In this context, a document was created, which has been dormant since 1339 in the Archives of the Kingdom of Majorca and the expeditions documented.

1878, when some Catalans were missing three days in the cave, the Coves del Drac came into the headlines. The then still alive salvaged researchers told about the cave interior, but without being able to determine how far they had gone. In desperation they had in the cave wall, the words " No hi ha esperança " ( " There is no more hope " ) scratched.

1880 ventured then the German cavers Will again into the depths of the cave. Will put on cards, however, only over the front part. But even that was considered exceptional circum courageous, because he found that the deviation from the compass heading north was the greater, the farther he penetrated into the interior.

In 1896, the Frenchman Édouard Alfred Martel to thoroughly explore 1300 meters of the cave system and to map. Client and the financier was Archduke Ludwig Salvator. Martel was the huge crystal clear, constant 20 ° C warm lake deep in the cave interior. This lake was then named after him llac Martel. It is 177 meters long, 40 meters wide on average and up to 9 feet deep.

1904 discovered the Romanian marine biologist Emil Racoviţă in the cave system, a new type of cancer. He founded the research branch of biospeleology and he dedicated himself to the study of subterranean ecosystems.

1922, soon after the discovery of Martell, came the Mallorcan Joan Servera Camps on making something out of the caves. He bought a lot of money for the comparatively unattractive piece of land at Porto Cristo, on the ground was the entrance to the cave. After damaligem law that knew the co-founder of the Tourist Office, the caves were from that where the reason was the input, regardless of how far they ranged underground. Servera had paths, create stairs and seats and open when the Cala Murta a new approach.

1934, after a few private shows with music and ballet in the caves, he left the premises by the engineer Dr. Carles Buïgas i Sans illuminate, as if they were a fairy tale world, and across the lake, the first light -filled orchestra boats, followed by two Visitors boats.

In 1935 was officially opened. The various caves were well-known names, such as " Feentheater " and " Diana's Bath ", or were by their appearance " flag " or " monk and cactus " named. To date, the visit to the cave has not changed: Increase light and delicate sounds of these underground cathedral at a furious spectacle; its natural silence he maintains now at night only.

Visit today

Today, the Coves del Drac one of the famous tourist attractions of the Balearic Island and frequented. During high season, thousands of people are smuggled every hour through the cave passages, as an individual leadership is no longer possible in these masses. This causes numerous critics of the strong commercialization on the plan. The caves are open throughout the year for visitors. In the cave there are some interesting limestone formations. Some of the stalagmites and stalactites meet in the middle and form columns. On llac Martel ( Martel ) is now an auditorium with seating for about 1,100 visitors, which is used for staging artistic performances.

205439
de