Guiding services to The Bear Cave in Kletno

The discovery of the Bear Cave is naturally related to the extraction of marble in the Mt. Śnieżnik Massif. Marble was quarried in four Kletno-based quarries. A marble quarry, known as Kletno III, was established on the deforested slopes of Mt. Stroma in 1965.
On 14 October 1966, explosives were detonated in order to create access to the inside of the mountain. As a result, an insignificant hole at an altitude of approximately 800 m a.s.l. revealed the cave opening. When the workers entered the cave, they noticed huge amounts of pale-coloured bones stuck in the cave sediments. Information about this unexpected discovery reached the University of Wrocław and, 13 days later, scientists arrived to carry out reconnaissance of the newly discovered cave. Scientists announced that the discovered bones belonged to a Pleistocene cave bear. The quarry Kletno III was closed in December 1966 to embark upon a long period of exploration and research in the newly named Bear Cave. The cave opening was closed off with a door and then the exhibition pavilion was added as a buffer to protect the cave’s vulnerable microclimate. During the period of 1974–76, the tourist route was built, and since 1977 the Bear Cave has been declared a nature reserve. The tourist route is illuminated locally and is 360 m long. The cave tour takes about 45 minutes and runs on the middle level of the cave at an altitude of 791–780 m. a.s.l.