| Eberstadter Tropfsteinhöhle | |
|---|---|
| Eberstadt Stalactite Cave | |
 The wedding cake one of the stalagmites in Eberstadt | |
| Location | Buchen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
| Coordinates | 48°15′23″N 9°26′54″E / 48.2565°N 9.4482°E |
| Length | 645 metres (show cave is 588 metres) |
| Discovery | 1971 |
| Geology | Karst, limestone |
| Show cave opened | 1973 |
| Lighting | electric |
| Visitors | 57.900(2012–2016) |
| Website | Official website |
The Eberstadt Stalactite Cave (or Eberstadter Tropfsteinhöhle) is a German show cave located in Bauland at the transition of Southeastern Odenwald forest in the North of Baden-Württemberg. It is near Eberstadt, a District of Buchen, around 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of Heidelberg and 100 km (62 mi) north of Stuttgart. The cave is around 600 metres (1,969 ft) long, lies 341 m (1,119 ft) above sea level and is estimated to be 3 to 5 million years old. It was discovered in December 1971 after blasting operations in a Muschelkalk quarry, and opened to the public in 1973. Since then it has been used as a show cave and is one of the attractions of the "Geo-Nature park Bergstrasse-Odenwald".
The cave entrance is angled several times and in some instances only 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) high, and has halls up to 6-metre (20 ft) high. It lies in the lower Muschelkalk and contains rich stalactite ornaments such as slender and cone-like stalagmites and sinterflags, sinterterraces and crystals. As the cave was closed after its discovery and guided tours have only used electric light, the dripstones have been preserved are mostly still chalk-white; this is in contrast to older German show caves in where candles and torches were used which lead to the blackened of stones. The Eberstadter Tropfsteinhöhle is thought to be one of the most beautiful show caves in Germany.