Na Technice Cave

Na Technice Cave is a small karst cave in the Moravian Karst (Moravský kras), tucked into the northwest slope of Skalka hill (478 m) in the Březina valley (Březinské údolí), close to the villages of Ochoz u Brna and Březina in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It is one of many minor cave features in this part of the karst — unknown to mainstream tourism, but present for decades in the record of local cave researchers.

Where exactly is Na Technice Cave?

The cave sits within the so-called Skalka Karst, a small karst micro-area covering the whole limestone hill of Skalka, itself part of the larger Povodí Říčky karst group (the Říčka stream catchment) within the Moravian Karst. The whole area is protected as the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area. On the northwest foot of Skalka, several small caves formed under similar circumstances have been recorded alongside Na Technice — including Tereza and U Studánek — while the wider Povodí Říčky group counts roughly a hundred registered caves, among them the well-known Ochozská Cave and Netopýrka in the neighbouring Říčka valley.

How was the cave discovered?

Na Technice was exposed during limestone quarrying in a small, now-disused quarry in the Březina valley. It formed in light grey Vilémovice limestones of the Macocha Formation — rock typical of the southern Moravian Karst, dating back to the Devonian. The same quarry wall later revealed the portal of another cave, Tereza, which today is largely filled with sediment. The neighbouring cave U Studánek is known for having had a narrow-gauge tramway running to it during the quarrying work, a detail that shows how closely the history of these modest caves is tied to the area's former mining activity.

Who has studied the cave, and what is known about it?

Exploration of the caves around Březina — Na Technice among them — has been carried out for decades by the Březina Group of the Brno Speleological Club, an amateur caving group affiliated with the Brno-based speleological society. Its history and findings, including notes on Na Technice and the neighbouring Ve Skalce cave, are documented in Martin Vrána's 1988 book "Jeskynní výzkum u Březiny: 40 let březinské skupiny speleologického klubu v Brně" ("Cave Research near Březina: 40 Years of the Březina Group"). In the 1950s the group helped restore and research the famous Býčí skála Cave, and its flagship project remains the nearby Malý lesík cave — a former sink of the Březina (Ochoz) stream, filled with river sediment, which cavers gradually extended by cable railway to over 350 metres, deepening the main shaft to 20 metres. That effort stands out even by Moravian Karst standards and shows how much work local enthusiasts have put into this unassuming corner of the karst.

Can Na Technice Cave be visited?

No — Na Technice is not among the five show caves of the Moravian Karst open to the public (Punkva Cave, Kateřinská Cave, Balcarka, the Sloup-Šošůvka Caves and Výpustek), and no marked visitor route leads to it. It is a research site of interest mainly to speleologists and karst enthusiasts rather than a stop for mass tourism. Visitors to the area around Ochoz u Brna can instead follow the marked hiking trails of the Moravian Karst and, along the way, take in the much better-known caves of the same Říčka catchment, such as Ochozská Cave and Netopýrka.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Na Technice Cave located? On the northwest slope of Skalka hill in the Březina valley, in the Moravian Karst, near the villages of Ochoz u Brna and Březina.

Can Na Technice Cave be visited? No — it is not one of the guided show caves, and the surrounding area is primarily a research site rather than a tourist attraction.

How did the cave form, and when was it discovered? It was exposed during limestone quarrying in a small quarry in the Březina valley; it formed in Vilémovice limestone of the Macocha Formation.

Who has researched Na Technice Cave? The Březina Group of the Brno Speleological Club — its work, including notes on this cave, is documented in Martin Vrána's 1988 book.

How many caves belong to the Povodí Říčky karst group that includes Na Technice? Around a hundred, including well-known caves such as Ochozská Cave and Netopýrka in the neighbouring Říčka valley.