Jasov Cave holds a special place in Slovak history — it is the oldest show cave in the country, first opened to visitors by monks from the nearby Jasov Monastery back in 1846. Step inside and you will find a spectacular underground world of towering stalagmite domes, delicate straw stalactites and ancient inscriptions that tell stories spanning millennia.
Carved by the waters of the Bodva River through Triassic limestone, the cave spreads across five vertical levels connected by winding passages. The oval-shaped corridors and vast domes were formed by a combination of erosion and chemical dissolution, and the result is breathtaking. The Bat Dome, Old Dome and Great Dome impress with enormous flowstone cascades, some already weathered to a silvery grey. Look up in the Great and White Domes and you will spot fresh, glassy straw stalactites still growing. The cave maintains a cool, steady temperature year-round — a welcome relief on a hot summer day.
How to get thereHigh up on the cave's top floor, in the so-called Hussite Hall, a Gothic blackletter inscription dated 1452 was carved into the wall — commemorating a victory of the Hussite 'brethren' forces over János Hunyadi near Lučenec. It is one of the most remarkable historical relics hidden underground in Slovakia.