Liskovská Cave

The cave is situated easterly from Ružomberok close to the Lisková village. It is known from time immemorial. The main entrance is at elevation of 500 m.

The cave system is formed in the Mních Hill, which geomorphologically protrudes from the surrounding terrain. It is made of a block of carbonate rocks protruding on the southern side from the strata of the Central Carpathian Paleogene of the Liptovská Basin. The block is formed mostly from monoclinally inclined Middle Triassic (Anis) limestones and dolomites of the Gutenstein type. Numulitic limestones and conglomerates of the basal Paleogene are transgressively placed upon them.

The total length of cave spaces reaches at present 4,250 m with vertical span of 74 m. The underground spaces are located within relatively small groundfloor plan of about 100 x 120 m. Air temperature in the cave is 7-8 °C all year round.

The great importance of this cave is given mainly by archaeological discoveries. It became known to educated and ordinary people as early as the 18th century. However, the spaces were damaged by unprofessional researches and breaking off the flowstone decoration. The oldest settlement comes from the Later Stone Age. Mostly stone cleft tools and sherd of copper jewels were found here. A unique cult object with human remains was found and documented in 1997 in one of the side passages near the Jánošíkova Hall. The shreds of typical pots with button and finger protrusions tell about the first found settlement of the Lengyel Culture in Liptov. This was also the place of the first speleoarchaeological research in the previous Ugry in the second half of the 19th century. Further researches brought a precious discovery of unique copper bull double yoke, dated back to the 4th millennium B.C. The discovery is exceptional by its artistic working and it is the oldest metal sculpture of domestic draught animal. Rich were also findings of copper earrings and pottery.

Twelve bat species were found in the Liskovská Cave by now. It belongs to chiropterologically most valuable localities of Liptov. It is important place for a reproduction colony of the Daubenton’s Bat (Myotis daubentonii). Also the Greater Mouse-Eared Bat Myotis myotis and Myotis oxygnathus live here. The cave is quite poor as for the invertebrate fauna. Known are mostly surface or troglophilic species, penetrating mainly to the opening parts – e.g. pseudoscorpion Neobisium muscorum, springtails Plutomurus carpaticus, Arrhopalites pygmaeus, spider Clubiona pallidula, beetle Choleva bicolor, and butterflies and dipterians. The most significant finding is the cave form of the springtail of the Megalothorax genus, which is a new species for science.