Blautopf (TILOS / no diving)
Diving is prohibited. The Blautopf in Blaubeuren is the deep-blue karst spring of the Blau, about 21 m deep and 40 m wide, and the entrance to the long Blauhöhle system, whose first 1,200 m are underwater. After several diving accidents, some fatal, the town barred divers in the 1980s. Since then special permits have gone only to rescue and research groups such as the DLRG, the Verein für Höhlenkunde München and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blautopf.
Facts
- Region: Germany – Mines & Caves
- Area: Swabian Jura & Baden-Württemberg
- Depth: 0–21 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Coordinates: 48.416111, 9.783889
- Highlights: DIVING BANNED since the 1980s – special permits only for rescue and research teams, funnel-shaped karst spring about 21 m deep and 40 m across, first ~1,200 m of the Blauhöhle are water-filled; dry 'Apokalypse' hall beyond
- Closed / banned site: Diving ban: the town of Blaubeuren has banned diving since the 1980s; special permits go only to rescue and research groups. Check current terms.
- Tips: Visit only from the shore; the area is being redeveloped until about 2028 and is reached via temporary bridges. For cave diving go to a mine with an operator (e.g. Nuttlar).