A fissure cave below Malinów in the Silesian Beskids, open to visitors since 2019.
Malinowska Cave is a fissure cave below the summit of Malinów in the Silesian Beskids, with its entrance at 1,080 m above sea level. Since 2019 it has been officially open to visitors, and metal ladders and handholds make the entry easier.
It is a landslide cave, formed in the conglomerates of Malinowska Skała and in the sandstones of the upper Godula beds.
The entrance, measuring 2.5 by 0.6 m, is a fissure about 10 m deep. Further on, the cave has two series of narrow, tall fissures, connected by winding passages and chimneys. The largest chamber, called the Gallery, is 13.5 m long, up to 1.4 m wide and 9.5 m high. The website of the town of Wisła gives a depth of 22.7 m and about 230 m of passages, while an inventory description from 1954 speaks of 132 m. During the research that began in 1950 the temperature was about +6 °C, and it remains so today. It is damp, and after thaws and long rains water drips in many places.
The cave has been known for a long time, and legends have grown up around it that are not confirmed in sources.
According to tradition, Hussites hid here, as did Protestants persecuted in the 16th and 17th centuries, and in the early 18th century the outlaw Ondraszek. The stories also speak of treasures and of a passage stretching all the way to Żywiec. In literature the cave appeared in 1850 in Ludwik Zejszner's account of a journey to the sources of the Vistula.
The descent is secured by a system of ladders and handrails, which was ceremonially opened on 8 June 2019.
It was installed by members of the Alpine Club at the Beskid Group of GOPR (Mountain Volunteer Rescue Service) with the support of the town of Wisła. Earlier the descent was difficult and suited to experienced hikers. A torch and rain clothing come in handy, because it can be wet and muddy inside.
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