Rock dwellings within sight of Sloup Castle

Samuel's Cave is a hermit's residence, carved into a sandstone rock mass, protruding from a small hill above the southern edge of the village of Sloup in Bohemia. Görner rolled out a rock hermitage and lived in it for 17 years. The hermitage is also named after him.
The dwelling is carved into the rock
In 1718, a local native Samuel Görner dug into the sandstone rock and inhabited it as a hermit. He lived in the cave from 1718 until April 27, 1735, when he moved to the rock hermitage at Sloup Castle. From there, after a few years, he moved to a hut near Svatá Hora near Příbram, where he was murdered one night and robbed of money that pilgrims kept with him.

The inside of the cave
The cave is entered through a narrow rock cleft with several carved stairs. Behind the entrance there is a 2 × 2 meter large hall, originally used as a kitchen. A wide door leads from the hall to a 6.5 m long and about 2.5 m wide living room, which intersects across the entire rock. Two windows are cut into the rock in its opposite walls. Samuel Görner was trained as an ornamental gardener, but he also cut glass lenses and made glasses and binoculars.

Lookout point above the cave
It is possible to ascend the rock above the cave from the east side along a staircase carved into the rock with a railing. Just below the top of the rock is a modified viewpoint.

View of the rock castle Sloup
From the viewpoint there is a beautiful view of the valley, which is dominated by the rock castle Sloup. The view is somewhat limited by already quite mature trees, but it is still worth it.

Lookout point on the side rock
Just a few tens of meters north of the entrance to the cave, there is a rock massif „Vana“, where a staircase leads to the viewpoint at the top.

View of the valley
Even from this viewpoint, it is possible to enjoy the view of the castle and the village of Sloup in Bohemia

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