Karszt es Barlang, Special Issue 1989. p. 97
- 99. Budapest
The
mysterious underground caverns of Hungary probably attracted the attention of
the early people who lived in the limestone regions but few written documents
have survived to our days. With few exceptions, reliable evidence on the
exploration of Hungarian caves exists from only the early 19th century. Since
that time are known the names of brave men who dared to descend into the cool,
dark depths and found -instead of dragons and de- mons -a colourful world of
wonders there.
SÁRTORY, József (1766-1839),
a mining engineer, became memorable in the history of Hungarian cave
exploration by preparing the first map of the Baradla Cave of Aggtelek in 1794.
According to current information, this is one of the oldest cave maps drawn by
an engineer in the world. Unfortunately, the original was not preserved, and
the only copy, discovered in 1962, is stored in the National Szechenyi Library
in Budapest. Originally, a text also accompanied the map (written by SARTORY's
friend, Janos PARKAS), but it was lost.
RAISZ, Keresztely ( 1766 -1849),
surveyor of Gomor county, surveyed and studied the then known section of the
Aggtelek Cave in 1801. His map and description was published in 1803 and 1807,
respectively, in Vienna. His German language work is the first detailed description
of the Baradla. However, he was already criticized by his contempora- ries for
his incorrect interpretation as to the origin of the cave. Raisz emphasized
fire as having a primary role in cave formation and this opinion was not
consistent with even early 19th century scientific knowledge. The map, with
Russian inscriptions, was included in P. N. Glinka 's book, published in Moscow
in 1815.
VASS, Imre (1795-1863)
was a surveyor, successor in office to Keresztely Raisz. In the 1820s he
carried out repeated explorations in the Aggtelek Cave in order to find assumed
but unknown pas- sages. In 1825 he penetrated the water marking the
contemporary
terminal point, which was at a low level due to several years of drought. He
explored 4.5 km of the main cave passage and performed precise surveying. His
results appeared in Hunga- rian and German in 1831. He described the geological
and hydrological conditions of the surroundings and the exploration history of
the cave, and he presented the recently explored sections in detail. A
hand-colored map detailing the basic structure, longitudinal sections, and
surface area of the cave was provided with this volume. This work is the first
scientific document about Hungarian cave exploration.
SCHMIDL, AdoIf (1802-1863),
a geographer, 'father of modern speleology', lived in Hungary from 1857 to his
death. Besides his important in- vestigations in Slovenia, he also had a major
con- tribution in the exploration of Hungarian caves. In 1856 he studied the
Baradla Cave of Aggtelek and the Szilice Ice Cave, currently in Czechoslovakia.
Between 1858 and 1862 he investigated the hardly known caves and karst
phenomena of the Bihar Mountains of Transylvania, now in Romania. Finally, in
1863, he worked in the Abaliget Cave. He published his results in outstanding
papers.
SIEGMETH, KaroIy (1845-1912),
a railway engineer, is a great figure in Hungarian cave exploration in spite of
his foreign origin. He established the Eastern Carpathian Department of the
Hungarian Carpathian Association and commissioned by this organization, visited
the Aggtelek Cave. Finding it in a neglected state, he made a proposal for
saving the cave. At his initiative the Eastern Carpathian Department undertook
the supervision of the cave, surveyed it, made it easily passable, and also
opened a new entrance. Siegmeth was also an enthusiastic popularizer of caves.
He lectured on speleology in the major towns of the country, using his own
slide series. He published several papers on caves at home and abroad,
particularly about the Baradla Cave. In 1910 he became the first president of
the first Hungarian scientific cave exploration organization. He collected
literature on the caves of Hungary; this was edited for publication by Henrik
Horusitzky after his death.
JORDÁN, Károly (1871-1959),
Professor of Mathematics, was the first important figure who employed climbing
technology and equipment in his cave explorations. He participated in the
explo- ration of the Plil-volgy Cave, studied the Rev water cave in
Transylvania, and surveyed the Tapolca lake cave. In 1910 he played a major
role in the organization of the first scientific organization of Hungarian cave
exploration, and he became vice- president of the Society. In 1911 he
investigated the shafts (potholes) of the Als6-hegy. The event is a landmark in
Hungarian speleology, the starting- point towards the exploration of shafts.
Applying rather primitive equipment, he explored, surveyed and took photographs
in 12 caves within three days.
KADIC, Ottokár (1876-1957),
was a geologist and paleontologist, whose name
is associated with the launching of organized cave exploration in Hungary. His
interest in paleontology attracted him to caves. His excavations of the Szeleta
Cave, which began in 1906, marked the advent of systematic cave exploration for
scientific purposes in the caves of Hungary. Subsequently in other caves of the
Bükk Mountains and also in the Pilis, Gerecse Mountains and in almost all
important caves of the country, his discoveries achieved results meriting
interna- tional appreciation. He carefully documentated his work. He surveyed
and described not only the caves where excavations were under way but also
studied all the caves in the neighbourhood. He was the first to provide a
description of the Istvfln Cave, and when it was opened for tourism, he worked
there as an adviser. He was influential in the explo- ration of the caves of
the Buda Mountains. He drew the first map of the Szemlő-hegy Cave, explored in
1930. He was responsible for the clearing and opening of the partly natural,
partly artificial system of caverns below the Castle Hill of Buda. On the upper
level of this cave, he established the
first
Hungarian speleological exhibition. He descri- bed the Lóczy Cave and developed
it for tourism. His activity aimed at the protection of caves is also
noteworthy. Anually, he prepared a list of literature on Hungarian caves. He
edited the first speleological journals (Barlangkutatás and Barlangviláig). He
had an outstanding role in the development and evolution of the scientific
organisation of Hungarian cave exploration. He was first secretary and then
president of the Hungarian Speleological Society, formed in 1926. In 1952 he
prepared a comprehensive work on the caves of the Carpathian basin, but it has
remained unpublished.
STRÖMPL, Gabor (1885-1945),
a geographer and cartographer, was an eminent figure in Hungarian cave
exploration in the first decades of this century. Especially prominent is his
research work in the caves of the Abauj -Gömör region (1911) and Transylvania
(1912). He was particularly interested in speleological and karst terminology.
General issues such as karst morphology, hydrology of the Buda, Bükk, and
Aggtelek Mountains, and the origin and destruction of caves, were also among
his interests.
DUDICH, Endre (1895-1971), Professor of Biology, was an
internationally recognized biospeleologist. In 1928-29 he intensively studied
the faune of the Aggtelek Cave. His results were sum- marized in a
German-Ianguage monograph publish- ed in Vienna in 1932. This was a fundamental
work in speleobiology, still highly acclaimed and consi- dered, indispensable,
which brought him interna- tional fame. As a university professor, Endre Dudich
nurtured the growth of eminent biologists who engaged in the study of
speleofauna and speleoflora. In 1957 he established the fourth biological cave
laboratory in the world in the Baradla. In order to publish the achievements of
Hungarian speleo- biology, the launched the series 'Biospeleologica Hungarica'.
He was an officer of the Hungarian Speleological Society for a long time.
BOROS, Adam (1900-1973),
Professor of Bo- tany, was one of the founders of the Hungarian Speleological
Society in 1926. He was a scientist with diverse interests and great interest
in the education of the younger generation. Of his many activities, his
pioneering investigation of cave mosses in the most valuable.
PAPP , Ferenc (1901-1969),
Professor of Hydrogeology, only became involved in the management of Hungarian
cave exploration in the early 1950s. At his university department and
elsewhere in the country he encouraged the activity of cave exploration groups.
In 1957 he established a karst and cave research station at J6svafő, named
after Imre Vass. He published several papers on the geological im- plications
of speleology. In his articles on the role of karst phenomena in engineering
geology and on the indexing of underground caverns he provided a detailed
program for the scientific exploration of caves and karst areas.
SCHÖNVISZKY, László (1901-1979),
was a librarian whose life was closely interwoven with Hungarian cave
exploration. From his youth he conducted excavations in various cave regions of
the country. In the early 1930s he began to collect Hungarian speleological
literature. As a result of his work, in collaboration with Károly Bertalan, the
Hungarian cave bibliography from 1931 to 1945 can be regarded as almost
complete. In 1926 László Schönviszky was among the founders of the Hungarian
Speleological Society and served as its secretary for some time. In 1961, by
then retired, he became chief of office, secretary and deputy secretary general
of the reorganised Society. He es- tablished a new library for the Society.
VÉRTES, László (1914-1968), was a paleoarchaeologist whose life-work
is of international significance. As a disciple of Ottokar Kadic, he studied
the problems of cave fills. The excavation in the Istállóskő Cave, Bükk
Mountains, was an important event in his life. It was here that he recognized
the need for comprehensive investigations; this he applied in his further
excavations (Lambrecht Kalman Cave). The data on Hungarian caves is summarized
in his vast manual (Monuments of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Hungary,
1964). He also participated in the social organization of cave exploration and
in the work of the Society. He fought for the protection of caves at a time
when few people in Hungary were concerned with the protection of the
environment.
CHOLNOKY, Jenő (1870-1950),
Professor of Geography and an outstanding figure in the history of Hungarian geography,
made important contributions to the development of Hungarian karst and
speleological research. As part of his earlier investigations in physical
geography, he had been concerned with this field, but he became deeply
interested in the relatively new discipline of karsto- logy only in the early
1900s. First he studied the karsts of Transylvania followed by those in the Bükk,
Mecsek, Bakony and Buda Mountains and those in Upper Hungary. His most valuable
obser- vations were in the Karst Mountains of Slovenia where he made currently
still accepted observations about limestone areas and caves in general (1916).
His later scientific activity touched upon many details of karstification, and
his views on this process developed the foundation of the modern approach to
karst. He also studied the origin of caves. In 1926, he became executive
president of the Hungarian Speleological Society and was president from 1932
unti11944. In this capacity he frequently lectured on speleological subjects
and promoted the development of this discipline.
MOTTL, Maria (1906-1980),
a paleontologist, was the most important woman cave researcher. Starting in the
1930s, she was secretary to the Society. She meant continuity in the life of
the Society as she was in charge of operative tasks.
For
example, she prepared the minutes of meetings and extracted them for the
public. As a paleonto- logists, she conducted many excavations, first in the
Biikk Mountains, and then in Transylvania in 1941-42.
BERTALAN, Kilroly (1914-1978),
a geologist, was an active contributor to Hungarian speleology throughout his
life. His greatest achievement was collecting, categorizing, and making
available do- cuments research reports. He regarded the compilation of the
Hungarian speleological bibliography his main tasks. It is because of him and László
Schönviszky that the list of Hungarian speleological works is almost complete
to 1945.
PLÓZER, István (1948-1977),
cave diver. He started cave diving in 1964. His most important fields of
activity were the Tapolcai-tavas Cave, the Molnár János Cave and the
resurgence-cave of the Héviz Lake, that latter had been discovered through his
efforts. He collected and edited publications on Hungarian cave diving. To
promote cave diving activities he organized the Underwater Caving Committee
within the Hungarian Speleological Society in 1975. He was killed by accident
during a dive to the cave of the Héviz Lake.