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Caves of “hell”

Switzerland's version of hell is the Hölloch cave system.

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Located in canton Schwyz in central Switzerland, the Hölloch caves are the longest – at nearly 200km – in western Europe. “Hölloch” translates into English as Hell’s Hole, but the first syllable of the word means “slippery” in the local German dialect.

Text provided by Gregor Bättig, vice-president of the Hölloch Cave Research Association. Images from Trekking Team AG, “Abenteuer im Hölloch” by Hugo Nünlist, and “Im Banne der Hölle” by Alfred Bögli.

Yumi von Reding-Sato, swissinfo.ch

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR