Lorette cave, Rochefort, Namur, Wallonia, Belgiumi

Regional Level Types
Lorette cave	Cave
Rochefort	Municipality
Namur	Province
Wallonia	Region
Belgium	Country

The cave of Lorette-Rochefort or cave of Rochefort, a cave with concretions, was created by the Lomme river. Even though the existence of caves in Rochefort is already mentioned by the Abbé de Feller in 1771 and by Jean Kickx and Adolphe Quételet in 1822 (in "Relation d'un voyage fait à la grotte de Han au mois d'août 1822"), it was only in 1865 that the cave of Rochefort was officially discovered by Alphonse Collignon. It is located in Rochefort and has been open to the public since 1870. The largest room in the cave, the "Salle du Sabbat" ("Sabbath room") is 39 meters high. The constant temperature inside is around 10 degrees all year round. The cave provides a place for bats to roost, and there are also some small insects and spiders in the cave. The Lomme, which once flowed in the caves, now flows in the lower parts of the mountain. Fish that might be in the water only survive a few days.

Unlike many other caves in Belgium, it has the particularity of being very vertical. The cave has six rooms; the small "salle des Arcades" is located 80 m under the castle of Beauregard. The largest (65 by 125 m) and the highest (35 meters) room is called "la salle du Sabbat". For more than a hundred years, the guide has been flying a small luminous hot air balloon there during a sound and light show to give visitors an idea of ​​its height. This room, located 65 meters underground, owes its name to the so-called "Witch's Sabbath" which according to the first visitors was held there. Since 2003, the visit also includes the smallest underground room, "le Cataclysme".

In order to rid the cave of its sinister reputation (for witches' sabbaths being held there), the cave was recently renamed "Lorette", named after the listed chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. It was formerly known only as the Grotte de Rochefort.

Before the one-hour visit to the cave, the film "Vidéokarst" is shown.

The faults of the Lorette-Rochefort cave are studied by devices measuring their displacement but also earthquakes even if they are too weak to be felt. Others measure gravity, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and seepage of water. Everything is recorded every minute by telematics.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotte_de_Lorette-Rochefort
Wikidata ID:	Q4488538

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References