English Guide – Follow the Numbers
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Download PDF1. BAT CAVE INTRODUCTION
Historical accounts of the Bat Cave date back to the mid-1800s, when its vast numbers of bats were first recorded. The heavy use of agricultural pesticides later reduced the bat population dramatically, though recent winters have shown signs of recovery.
In parallel, the cave has revealed a rich archaeological record. Excavations—intensified after World War II by Professor Chmielewski—have uncovered evidence of human activity from 130,000 years ago through the era of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens.
Among the finds are flint tools and artifacts that established the Jerzmanowice culture, marking the cave as a historical hub for hunting and shelter.
2. BEAR HUNTING
In ancient times, early humans developed a clever technique to hunt the formidable cave bear. They would start a fire in the entrance chamber of the cave, allowing the smoke to fill the space and force the bear out into the open. Once the bear emerged, likely driven toward a makeshift palisade of sharpened logs, the hunters attacked with spears and stone bolas.
3. GEOLOGICAL OUTLINE
Limestone, that is the one which we can see in the cave, is a sedimentary rock. They started to be formed in the Upper Jurassic period, so they are approximately one hundred and fifty million years old. Warm Jurassic sea used to be here. It was as warm as the seas surrounding Australia nowadays. Such living forms as ammonites, belemnites, sea urchins, algae or corals lived in the water here. All of them were accumulating at the bottom and created sedimentary layers. Thickness of the rock layer from this period exceeds 400 meters.
Limestone which can be seen here around us is of massive type and it consists mainly of corals and sponges. The caves themselves are much younger than the rocks. They were formed at the end of the Tertiary period when the formation of Tatry mountains was taking place – so-called Alpine orogeny. Limestone became cracked. Water started to get into fissures and it gradually created wider and wider passages. Underground rivers started to flow – and this is one of the hypothesis on how caves were created. The second one is based on thermal water which contained loads of chemical compounds, aggressive ones, which led to rock etching.
4. CAVE BEAR MODEL
The model of a cave bear reminds us of a species that once roamed these depths. An adult cave bear, when standing on two legs, could have exceeded three meters in height and weighed around one thousand kilograms—surpassing even the size of modern polar bears. Cave bears became extinct approximately twenty-eight thousand years ago, possibly as a result of overhunting by primitive humans or rapid climate changes that disrupted their plant-based diet.
5. UNIQUE ROCK FORMATIONS
Here, you can observe an entire row of stalagmites. Between two deposition pillars lies a depression known as a stoup, where water naturally accumulates. In the small lakes formed between the stalagmites—sometimes called necrotic lakes or rice paddies—cave pearls develop. These oblong pearls form around bat bones that have fallen into the lakes; over two to three hundred years, calcium carbonate (calcite) precipitates on the bones, creating this rare phenomenon. Nearby, a hollow carved by swirling water is known as a dolly tub, typically formed where passages intersect or turn sharply. Below, a formation called ribs or organs further highlights the intricate natural processes at work in the cave.
6. THE BALL CHAMBER
Measuring approximately 25 meters in length, 15 meters in width, and 8 meters in height, the Ball Chamber is one of the cave’s notable spaces. In the 19th century, Count Wodzicki visited this chamber and famously fired his double-barreled gun three times. Despite his efforts—resulting in two full baskets of dead bats—the remaining bats clung to the ceiling as if undisturbed. This anecdote highlights the chamber’s once-abundant bat population. In this chamber couple of films were made such as:“With fire and sword”,“Cracow’s monsters”.
7. BAT SPECIES AND FACTS
Poland is home to around 27 bat species, with around nine found in this cave. Three species—the greater mouse-eared bat, lesser horseshoe bat and Geoffroy’s bat—are the most common in terms of population. The lesser horseshoe bat is among the smallest, measuring about 4 cm in length with a 20 cm wingspan and weighing 6–9 g, while the greater mouse-eared bat is one of the largest at roughly 8 cm long, with a 42 cm wingspan and a weight of 40 g. Bats are the only mammals capable of flight, with a medium-sized bat capable of consuming 2,000–3,000 mosquitoes a day.Their unique reproduction involves autumn copulation with delayed fertilization until spring, resulting in one pup per year. Despite their small size, bats can live 15–20 years; the oldest recorded in Europe reached 32 years. Interestingly, the Polish word for bat, nietoperz, derives from niedopierz, meaning “a bird without feathers.”
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