On the slopes of the deeply incised Gosbach Valley, spring water gushes and continuously deposits lime. Thus, during thousands of years, water formed a tufa terrace and falls over a ledge today. The terrace measures more than 20 meters in height. There is a Marian grotto below. These mostly artificially created shrines with pictures of the Virgin Mary are very common in southern Germany and are partly inspired by the Lourdes Grotto. Here, a statue of the Virgin Mary had been placed in a rare primary cave - a natural cavity created by the formation of new lime tufa.
Depending on conditions, lime tufa grows a few centimetres per year. Here, it even forms a protrusion, the so-called "nose". When this rock formation has reached a certain size after a long period of growth, it breaks off due to its weight, and a new "nose" grows. This happened the last time on 23th August, 2020. You can experience the hardly perceptible process of landscape formation at this extraordinary place. Places with tufa formations are valuable habitats and very vulnerable. Please be sure to stay on the paths.
