Gudenus Cave: A Window into Paleolithic Life

Located approximately 20 kilometers northwest of Krems an der Donau, the Gudenus Cave (Gudenushöhle in German) is a significant archaeological site offering a glimpse into Paleolithic life. The cave itself is relatively small, measuring about 22 meters in length and 2 to 3 meters in width. It's positioned at the foot of a rock face below Hartenstein Castle, approximately 7.5 meters above the Kleine Krems river. The cave served as a dwelling and workplace for humans for tens of thousands of years. Archaeological excavations have revealed a rich history of human occupation dating back to the Middle Paleolithic period, around 70,000 years ago, when Neanderthals used the cave as a resting place and a site for tool production. Evidence of their presence includes bone remains, charcoal, hand axes, and stone flakes. During the Upper Paleolithic period (approximately 19,000 to 12,000 years ago), modern humans also occupied the cave, leaving behind stone tools, bone tools, and a tubular container made from an eagle bone engraved with a drawing of a reindeer. The cave's sediments have also yielded bones of numerous Ice Age animals, including woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, aurochs, chamois, reindeer, and red deer. The cave's location in the Kremstal valley, at the confluence of the Große Krems and Kleine Krems rivers, made it an attractive site for early humans, providing access to water, food resources, and raw materials for tool production. The cave offered shelter and a strategic vantage point. While the cave isn't a formal museum, artifacts from Gudenus Cave are on display at the Natural History Museum in Vienna and MAMUZ Schloss Asparn/Zaya.