Wildkirchli

Geschichte

Wildkirchli are three interlinked caves situated in the Alpstein massif in the Appenzell Innerrhoden canton of Switzerland, north-east of Mount Säntis Switzerland. The caves are located at a height of. They are notable for the traces of Paleolithic Neanderthal habitation, dating to c. 40,000 BP, and cave bear bones dating to 90,000–40,000 BP. A museum at the site houses a full bear skeleton that was found in one of the caves.GeographyThere are three caves, the Altarhöhle, the Untere Höhle, and the Obere Höhle, located on the Ebenalp, which is the northernmost summit of the Appenzell Alps. They sit at a height of, and are reached by cable car from Wasserauen to the top of Edenalp, followed by a 15-minute hike down the mountain.History of the cavesThe earliest-known documentation of the cave was a visit by a cave explorers' club, the Höhlenklub of Appenzell, in 1863. In 1658, Paulus Ulmann (1613–1680), a priest in Appenzell, founded a chapel in the lower cave and established a hermitage in the upper cave. A series of hermits inhabited the site, and provided food and lodging to pilgrims who visited the chapel. The last hermit died in 1851, and the hermitage was eventually transformed into an inn. A small museum which is a recreation of the hermits' house was built on the site of the old inn.