The visits take place regardless of weather, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The visitor trail is a 90 minute walk. The temperature in the cave is 9 °C and the humidity is high. The trail is easy to walk but it is not paved. Solid footwear (boots) and warm clothing (long pants and a long-sleeve jacket) are recommended.

Should you park close to the cave entrance, please remember that your car is not a burglar-proof safe. Although the Czech Police will be on a heightened alert in the area during those days, please take your valuables such as money, documents and keys with you. Do not leave anything exposed on the seats. It would be sad to have a nice day spoiled because of a burglarized car.

Bull Rock Cave Days of Open Doors are sponsored by the Management of the Protected Land Area of the Moravian Karst (Správa Chráněné krajinné oblasti Moravský kras). The goal is to present this underground jewel to the public. The admission fee is voluntary – a contribution towards the maintenance of the cave and electrical (hydro) power expenses (lighting); and, partly, a donation to our exploration activities. The work of all organizers, guides and supporting staff is voluntary.

Presentation of documents related to both anniversaries.
A display of cave pictures (photographs).
Presentation of video clips and slides related to the cave and to the Moravian Karst.
A workshop producing glass beads similar to those found by Wankel in the Hall will be stationed on the front meadow. You may buy the product or learn how to make your own.

Refreshments will be offered by members of the Habrůvka volunteer fire department.  
Mobile cafeteria Tungsram will offer a variety of drinks. 
An outdoor fire pit will be available to those who wish to grill their own sausages (hot dogs).

 

12. 5. 2012 – The European Day of Parks

 

A replica of the warrior armour of a Hallstatt magnate, made by Master Daniel Říčan, the only one in the Czech Republic, will be on display together with other Hallstatt-related items.

A rich supplementary program will be available for this particular day. Activities will take place at the Bull Rock Cave as well as at the historical Frances (Old) Iron Works. A historical autobus will shuttle through the Křtiny Valley between the cave and the city of Adamov.

This event is organized by the Management of the Protected Land Area of the Moravian Karst, the city of Adamov, Technical Museum of Brno, and School Forest Company of the village of Křtiny. 

12. and 13. 5. 2012 – A hundred year old diving suit

 

The first speleo-diving attempt in Europe and, perhaps, in the entire world took place in this cave, in the Šenk siphon (sump), in 1912 (1913). The diver, Günther Nouackh, P. Eng., used a diving suit made by Westfalia Co. Without any previous experience, he tried to penetrate the dark and mysterious cave waters. His exploration eventually led to the discovery of a new section of the cave, the New Bull Rock Cave (Nová Býčí skála). 

During these days, you will have a unique occasion to see a similar diving suit made by Dräger Company. It was lent to our group by the Museum of Blansko before its final installment in their permanent karst exhibition. Emil Buršík used this suit in 1921 for the exploration of the Upper Lakelet in the Macocha Chasm. Later on, it passed onto Tunál Karel Divíšek, who used it in his explorations of the underground Punkva River.

 

19. and 20. 5. 2012 – Remembrance of the victims of the Pankrác axe-room

The “Pankrác” guillotine in the Bull Rock Cave

Should you visit the Bull Rock Cave during the last weekend of the Days of Open Doors, prepare yourself for an unusual presentation. The Entrance Hall, famous for the Wankel’s Hallstatt discovery, underwent substantial changes in 1944. Loosing the war, German Nazi occupants attempted to convert the Hall into an underground factory, probably for manufacturing fighter plane engines. That year, they widened the room (by means of blasting), destroyed the original sedimentary complex and started laying a concrete floor in the rear part of the Hall. 
It is at this particular location that we will commemorate our predecessors who refused to passively accept the occupation of our homeland and, for their resistance, paid the ultimate price – their lives. A functional replica of the Pankrác beheading machine – the guillotine – will be installed in the Hall. The original was built to the order of the German Reich Ministry of Justice in the spring of 1943 and placed in the so-called axe-room in the Pankrác prison in Prague. Until the end of WWII, a total of 1075 prisoners were executed there, including 155 women.
Only a few visitors can see the original Nazi guillotine in the Pankrác Memorial. This object is located inside a functional prison so access is restricted. It is very likely that the gloomy atmosphere of the Hall, marked with bloody primeval rites and Nazi devastation, this exhibit will evoke strong emotions. This last weekend will not be suitable for parents with small children – they are advised to visit during the previous two weekends. School aged children however, are welcome. They can complement their knowledge with a valuable, although hard lesson from our history. 
This time, the usual 15 to 20 minute Hallstatt presentation will be devoted to members of our resistance movement who lost their lives in the Pankrác axe-room and at similarly equipped places of execution in Dresden, Berlin and Wroclaw. For anyone interested, the 12 o’clock presentation can be complemented with the two hundred year long history of these killing machines that, originally designed to shorten the suffering of condemned men, served not only justice but also bloody dictatorships.

Vladimír Šebeček


* Program is subject to change without notice.