Greve Brothers Cave

The Greve Brothers Cave (Пещера братьев Греве) is a karst cave in the Sokoli Mountains on the bank of the Volga, within the city of Samara, between the Koptev and Studyony ravines, not far from the Upravlencheskiy settlement. It is the longest underground system in Samara Oblast and a regional natural monument: its passages run for about 700 metres and reach a depth of 31 metres.

History

The cave is named after the two sons of the Samara pharmacist Leopold Greve. In 1904 the brothers, Robert and Rudolf, explored the Sokoli Mountains, visited the cave and left an inscription at its entrance: "Greve Brothers 1904".

People came here long before them. Traces of ancient humans, household items and bones of a woolly rhinoceros and a cave bear have been found inside; some finds are dated to the Palaeolithic, and the site itself is classed as a Bronze Age monument of the Volsk-Lbishche type. The cave was declared a natural monument by the Kuibyshev Regional Executive Committee on 25 September 1967.

What to see

The cave is a maze in limestone: grottoes, stone galleries, narrow crawlways, collapsed sections and underground passages. Routes usually start from the main grotto. Well-known spots include:

• the Collapse Hall;
• the Mouse Gallery, home to bats;
• the Organ Pipe;
• the "Skinner", a tight squeeze about two metres long;
• the "Dinosaur Egg" boulder.

The temperature inside stays low all year, no higher than +4 °C.

Legends

Several stories are told about the cave. In one, the Greve brothers got lost in the maze; one was found two weeks later in deep shock, the other was never found. This is only a tale: the 1904 inscription is the one documented trace.

People also say that the ghost of a boy wanders the nearby cliffs, and that Stepan Razin hid his treasure in the caves of the Sokoli Mountains. One version holds that a grotto served as a sanctuary in ancient times.

Getting there

By car, take Moskovskoye Highway towards Krasnaya Glinka and Upravlencheskiy. By public transport, go to Upravlencheskiy or to the stops near Sorokiny Khutora: buses 50, 78 and 79, minibuses 113, 389, 392, 406 and 447. From there walk along the Volga from the Studyony or Koptev ravine. In summer the cave can also be reached by boat. Guides usually meet groups at the "7th Section" stop in Upravlencheskiy or in Sorokiny Khutora.

Good to know

It is best to go with an experienced guide: the passages are confusing and rockfalls happen. Wear suitable clothes and shoes, with protection against cold and injury; bats live in the cave and should not be disturbed.