In the almost 150 years since its first official discovery in 1875, the Hölloch has experienced an eventful history of exploration and tourism. Thousands of archive images and countless research reports bear witness to this exciting development. This knowledge, packed in many boxes and cartons, is waiting to be processed and presented to the general public in an appealing form.

The Hölloch is one of the largest cave systems in the world with over 207 kilometres of surveyed passages. With the new visitor centre, on the site of the now dilapidated keeper’s house, we want to present knowledge about the unique natural geological wonder of Hölloch in one central location.

In the new visitor centre, many topics such as man and cave, climate and vegetation before the ice ages, karst landscape with the largest virgin spruce forest in the Alps, geological contexts and processes or weather development as well as the history of tourism will be presented in an exciting and inspiring way.

At the same time, we want to create a modern infrastructure for offices, reception, storage and cloakrooms so that all Hölloch activities can be organised in the best possible way, from booking to leaving.

The new visitor centre is the entrance portal to the Hölloch. It offers visitors the perfect setting to understand the uniqueness of this natural wonder. The guided explorations in the unique cave together with an interactive exhibition make the visit an impressive experience.

The ground floor is the meeting point and meeting place. Visitors are greeted at the welcome desk and informed about the upcoming cave experience. The weather station provides an up-to-date view of the exact water levels at all times. A three-dimensional cross-sectional model of the front part of the cave shows the bookable tours in an easily understandable way. Pictures, short texts and audio stations convey the rich pioneering history in an exciting way. In the cosy lounge, where there is also a library with further literature, you can meet up over a coffee before or after a tour to exchange experiences.

The upper floor is divided into the forum and the activity area. This is where the communication and scientific analysis of the Hölloch with all its different aspects is located. This area is being created in close co-operation with the Höllochforschung AGH working group. An interactive 3D model allows visitors to virtually explore the vastness of the Hölloch. A short film about the history of the formation of the Hölloch is shown in the forum at the beginning of the guided tours.

In the activity area, there are various elements on the topics of hydrology, speleology, the history of the Hölloch and the surveying course, which can be worked on independently or in a group. On the crawl course you can test where you can still fit through.

The forum also serves as a learning area for the Hölloch Academy, where various workshops are offered for groups, school classes and companies.

Careful preparation is required for a successful visit to the Hölloch. This takes place in the basement, where the equipment room with helmets, LED lamps, overalls, rubber boots and climbing harnesses is located. The cloakroom, toilets and washing facilities are available to guests there. Working through a checklist and information on safety and cave rescue round off the instructions and are also the starting signal for the adventure ahead.

• Trekking Team AG, Project management: Peter Draganits, Marcel Murri
• Arbeitsgemeinschaft Höllochforschung AGH, History working group, Speleology, Activity: Gregor Bättig, Jürg Pulver, Regula Höhn, Sabrina Honegger, Roman Schelbert, Aline Wildberger, Jean Godat u.a.
• Felix Ziegler (Hydrology, weather stations): Felix Ziegler
• Didactics: Thomas Arbenz, Sonja Ulber
• Speleologist: Gerhard Amacher, Hans Moor, Marcel Rota, Kay Braun u.a.m.

Operating company/ownership:

Trekking Team AG / Peter Draganits, Weggis

• New Regional Policy NRP (Confederation & Canton Schwyz)
• Schweizer Berghilfe
• Albert Köchlin Stiftung
• Victorinox 
• Sparkasse Schwyz
• Petzl 

In order to realise the project with total costs of CHF 2.1 million, support from the public sector, institutions, sponsors and other sympathisers is required in addition to private funding. Your contribution will help to make the extensive knowledge and research material about the Hölloch accessible to the public and easy to understand.

You can easily transfer your desired contribution via TWINT or to account CH29 0063 3740 2979 1783 1. If you would like to support us with a larger donation or in another form, we look forward to hearing from you: Trekking Team AG, info@trekking.ch