Ice cave

Kungur ice cave - the unique nature sanctuary. There are many legends about it. According to one of these legends in 1578-1579 in vicinities of the cave Ermak’s group wintered. There is a set of legends that at various times grottoes of the cave served as a refuge for the conservatives run from prosecutions to Urals Mountains and for the first inhabitants of Kungur, who ran from ruinous attacks of Bashkir and Tatar groups. The first plan of the Ice cave was made in 1703 by outstanding scientist, the architect and Siberia’s mapmaker Simeon Remezov. Using the materials of Remezov drawings, Stralenberge (a member of Messershmidt Siberian expedition) made one of the first schemes of the cave which we can see now. In 1833 the Ice cave was examined by participants of the second Kamchatka expedition headed by Vitus Bering which way laid through Kungur. Н.В. Tatischev made the specified variant of Kungur Ice cave plan and has written down a number of oral legends about it, occurred among local residents. Academician I.Lepyokhin visited the Ice cave in 1770, and published its description. In the first half of XIX century the detailed description of cave’s grottoes was made by native of Kungur, the professor of Kazan University M.JA. Kittara. In XX century the significant contribution to the research of the karstic phenomena was brought by the professor of Perm University G.A.Maksimovich. Today studying of the cave is carried out in karstic scientific station of the Ural branch of the Academy of sciences.

In opinion of scientists, the age of the Ice cave is about 10-12 thousand years. The cave has arisen on a place of the sea which have shoaled in connection with a rising of the Ural ridge and mainly consists of plaster and calcareous breeds. The general extent of its studied part makes about 5,6 kilometers. 1,4 kilometers are equipped for carrying out excursions. Each grotto of the cave has the name and the unique shape. In different grottoes there is significant difference of temperatures caused by air circulation in them, by presence of crevices and so-called "organ pipes" - places in which water gets in a cave from a surface of the ground through vertical cracks. The first person to make regular excursions in the Ice cave was the grandnephew of an outstanding scientist, the researcher of Russian America - K.T.Hlebnikov - Alexey Timofeevich Hlebnikov. In 1914 Hlebnikov, having rented the cave from a local community of peasants, started to arrange paid excursions for inhabitants of Kungur and visitors of the city. Owing to Alexey Hlebnikov's diligence, the message about " Kungur miracle" has quickly scattered on different corners of the country. After Hlebnikov’s death in 1951, excursions to the cave were organized by employees of the Ural branch of the Russian academy of sciences, and in 1969 when inflow of tourists increased up to 100 thousand people a year, Kungur travel and excursions agency was opened. In 1983 on the place of the burned down wooden building of the bureau the modern tourist complex "Stalagmite", capable to accept simultaneously up to 350 tourists was constructed. Association Permtourist carries out service excursion groups.

The first grotto is called Diamond grotto. Characteristic feature of its external is the rich furniture of the ice crystals kept at any time of year, owing to that the grotto all-the-year-round is in a zone of low temperatures. Diamond grotto adjoins Polar grotto where it is possible to observe ice stalactites and stalagmites. It followed by grottoes Crypt and Cross grotto which names are connected with finds in this part of the cave in XVIII-XIX centuries the rests of a small stone refuge, a cross and icons, according to the legend, they belonged to eremites-conservatives. After a long gallery, visitors of the cave get in a grotto of Pompeii Ruins, representing a freakish heap of stones and plaster blocks. Thanks to special system of illumination, among the shadows rejected by a relief of the arches of the cave, it is possible to make out silhouettes of animal and fantastic characters.

When Alexander Hlebnikov with tourists came to Meteoric grotto, he outlined a line by his torch, this line was a symbol of meteor flying on the night sky. Today, guides show this effect by means of an electric small lamp. Here, for an instant, illumination is completely switched off to show to the visitors cave’s absolute darkness. There is a passage from grotto Coral rich with freakish outlines of stones into grotto Central. This passage received the name "Ladies' tears". In 1914 Hlebnikov showed the cave to German princess Victoria von Battenbergг and to her daughter Louise. According to the legend, having stumbled at slippery steps of passage and having hurt her knee, Princess Louise cried on this place for a long time. Later, princess became the wife of the king of Sweden. Since then people believe that if the young girl stumble on passage steps, she is expected to be happy in marriage. The grotto Titanic is remarkable for its underground lake. Its water is so transparent, that hung from above rock is reflected in it as in a mirror. Only microscopic blind cancers-krangonics live in the lake.

In following grottoes – Hlebnikov’s grotto, Long grotto and Romantics’ grotto the visitors of the cave have an opportunity to admire underground lakes. In the grotto Giant there is a New Year tree. Thanks to unique microclimatic conditions of the cave the fur-tree remains green and is not showered during all year. The last in the program of excursion is the grotto Tower named so because it is above all other parts of the cave. Here the visitors can see a boulder with a silhouette of a mouse.