“A wine cellar cave?” you ask. Welcome to the Martinovics-hegyi Pince-barlang. It is in Budapest’s 12th district. This small cave resides in the Buda Hills.
Once called Kis-Sváb-hegy quarry crystal cave it has many names. Locals may know it as Kétlyukú-barlang too. The Martinovics-hegyi Pince-barlang has a story to tell.
Imagine it is 1939. Koch Sándor announces a discovery. Blasting in the Martinovics-hegy limestone quarry revealed a crystal cavity. Hundreds of translucent calcite crystals sparkled on the walls. Some crystals had yellow barite. Rarely, tiny colorless fluorite cubes hid among the calcite.
Now picture Pál Pápa in 1943. He wrote about the Kristály-barlang on Kis-Sváb-hegy. Vagrants occupied it. They robbed travelers on deserted roads at night. Crawling on your belly was the only way to enter.
Pápa visited one weekday afternoon. He found rags candle stubs and a straw bed. A Sunday morning visit revealed three jailbird types fleeing the cave. The police later sealed the cave.
The 1957 Budai Mountains guide mentions the sealed Kristálybarlang. It was in a Martinovics-hegy quarry. In 1962 the Szabó József Geological Technical School’s cave explorers worked in the Kristálybarlang. Its entrance was in a Martinovics-hegy quarry.
In 1984, the book “Caves of Hungary” noted the Martinovics-hegy cave. It was Budapest’s most famous barite site. The land owner tired of collectors. He coated the yellow crystals with tar. Koch Sándor found fluorite traces and goethite among the calcite crystals.
This Pince-barlang may have served as a bomb shelter. You can still see brick walls inside. Their purpose remains a mystery. Were they for preservation or separation?
The smaller brick-walled entrance leads to a natural cave section. This section likely inspired the artificial space. Or maybe the creation was accidental. The ceiling’s fissure and hollows lack a floor and one side. These were likely mined away.
The Martinovics-hegyi Pince-barlang is small. It is only five meters long. Its depth is one meter. Its height is two meters. The cave has a modest vertical range of three meters. Two entrances lead into a large chamber. It measures seven by four meters. It also stands three and a half meters high. Eocene limestone forms the cave.
Perhaps further exploration could reveal more. For now the Martinovics-hegyi Pince-barlang holds its secrets close. Its history whispers through the stones. It invites us to imagine its past. From crystal cave to vagrant hideout to a sealed memory it remains a fascinating part of Budapest’s story.