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(text and pictures by Bert de Ruiter)
The Mønsted Limestone Mine is situated to the North of the small town Mønsted, about 10 kilometres to the West of Viborg.
Address: Mønsted Kalkgruber, Kalkværksvej 8, Mønsted, 7850 Stoholm.
The winning of limestone in Mønsted started more than a thousand years ago. First it started as a limestone quarry, but later they started mining. “Grube” is actually the northern word for mine gallery.
In 1953 the work in the caves ended and two years later also in the limestone quarry, but the limekiln continued to burn limestone from Djursland untill 1978.
In an endless labyrinth of galleries you will find caves as large as cathedrals and passages so narrow that a grown man cannot walk through them upright. An underground world, which tells you its stories about geology, bats and the long working days demanded to bring the limestone out into the daylight.
Above the largest lake in the mine they present a Multimediashow. This show tells the story of the limestone and the mine. The coloured presentations are projected on the limestone walls ard are reflected in the water, which gives a beautifull effect.
Visitors can walk on their own, so you can return to the entrance every time you like. The wearing of helmets is on a voluntary bases. The complex contains 60 km of galleries. 2 km of these galleries are illuminated. If you bring a tourch you can explore the remaining 58 km. On ypur way through the galleries you will see small streams and underground lakes. One moment you walk to galleries were the roof is about 10 metres above you and a little further you have to bend on your knees to get through.
Mønsted Limestone Mine is also the largest hibernation for bats in Northern Europe. The bats arrive in August and September and the mate before they hibernate. The next year around April they wake up and during the summer they live all over Jutland. Around 10.000 bats hibernate in this mine.
A seperate part of the mine is used for the storage of cheese. The storage helds about 250 tons of cheese. The conditions in the mine are perfect for the cheese to mature. The air humidity of 98% and a temperature of 8 degrees create the perfect conditions for this proces. The cheese remains in the mine for about 8 weeks. If you want to find the cheesestorage, just follow your nose. To me it didn’t smell like fresh cheese, but more like rotting cheese. Ugh, what a smell.
Me and my family visited the mine on the first of september 2006 and had a wonderful afternoon. Walking underground is a very special experience. To my opinion this mine is really worth a visit. Tickets cost 50 DK (7,- Euros) for Adults and 10 DK (1,40 Euros) for kids of 4–12 years of age. Dogs on leash are allowed.
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Also see:
monsted-kalkgruber.dk,
Mindat.org on this location.
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