Saxony · about 9 km from Meißen
Altes Kalkbergwerk Miltitz
- Max depth65 m
- CertificationCavern
- Water temperature≈ ~8 °Cestimated, no reports yet
- SpecialFlooded mine or quarry
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Fill stationTauchtreff DresdenAir to 300 bar; nitrox and trimix mostly during opening hours, on Saturdays by appointment and on Miltitz days often from ~16:00 tooRoute ↗
- Fill stationTauchsportcenter Sachsenluft (Chemnitz)Air (per 200bar.de); nitrox, trimix and O₂: askRoute ↗
- Fill stationFüllstation ChemnitzAir to 300 bar, oxygen and helium (per dark-team.de) — askRoute ↗
What it looks like
Tauchen im Kalkbergwerk Miltitz Diving in the sunken chambers of Altes Kalkbergwerk Miltitz Mine in Germany Tauchgang im Alten Kalkbergwerk Miltitz 2017 Tauchen im Alten Kalkbergwerk Miltitz 2013
All 5 videos and posts
Videos and posts
From other divers, via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. They only load when you click; after that, Google's or Meta's privacy rules apply.
Tauchen im Kalkbergwerk Miltitz Diving in the sunken chambers of Altes Kalkbergwerk Miltitz Mine in Germany Tauchgang im Alten Kalkbergwerk Miltitz 2017 Tauchen im Alten Kalkbergwerk Miltitz 2013
- Facebook
TDI - Team Germany
Search for more onYouTube ↗Instagram ↗Facebook ↗
Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
You dive through large halls with pillars, with fixed lines in the main galleries; side galleries are dived with a reel.
1 earlier accident or incident has been reported at this cave. Read what happened ↓
Profile and sections
You dive through large halls with pillars, with fixed lines in the main galleries; side galleries are dived with a reel. On the way you see stairs, ladders, timber props, mine carts, wheelbarrows, buckets, tools, an old bicycle, wartime concrete foundations and lime deposits; there are also dry sections. The water is ~8 °C year-round. Visibility is mostly 5–20 m (reports 2018–2022); Tauchtreff Dresden quotes 15–50 m, a 2009 article even 60–80 m.
The limestone mine in the Triebisch valley is documented since 1571 and was worked underground from the early 19th century. It closed in 1924 and then flooded with groundwater. During WWI part of it collapsed from the surface down to the 4th level; in 1944–45 it housed a relocated fuel factory (forced labour by concentration-camp prisoners). It has been dived since 1997 and has been a visitor mine since 2000.
Practical: underground a helmet is mandatory. Without a guide only the main gallery from the entrance to the cave lake is open to you, other parts only with a paid guide. No smoking, no fire, no dogs. No shop, rental or fill station on site.
- Depth and profile
- 4 levels to ~-60 m · 6 m level with places to surface · levels II–III -3 to -28 m · long gallery ~-18 m · Adolf-von-Heynitz hall -46 m (2009) or ~-60 m (2015) · max ~-65 m; deeper than -35 m only on trimix, announced 3 days ahead (2023 rules)
- Intro level
- Guided loop on the 6 m level along a fixed line (~15 min); the loop does not go through the cave lake. Without a cave certification this is a trial dive ('Schnuppertauchen'), always guided (2023 rules).
- Configuration
- No recreational rigs: doubles are preferred; even on the 6 m level at least a second first stage, preferably a stage — agree this with Tauchtreff Dresden. From the intro-to-cave zone (from -15 m) every diver carries a ~2 m long hose, 3 lights and a safety spool. Trimix dives (deeper than -35 m): each team leaves an extra stage of at least 10 l with 18/45 at the entrance as an emergency reserve. Report dives longer than 90 min to the dive leader. Pee valves are banned because the mine water is hardly refreshed; nappies are allowed, but take them home. Take your rubbish and used sofnolime with you and dispose of them outside the municipality. The 2023 rules name no CCR models (2016 list: e.g. APD Inspiration/Evolution, JJ, ISC Megalodon, Liberty, Poseidon — ask).
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable
- Scooters only by arrangement with the dive leader (TEL), and in practice almost never: the scooter kept at the mine is for recovery after accidents, and the mine is small enough to explore on open circuit. Training dives and photo/film also only by arrangement (2023 rules).
Who can dive where
- At least Cavern
- Cavern zone / easier part: at least Intro to cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 65 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
Only through Tauchtreff Dresden; register by e-mail. Diving takes place on set weekends from September through April; the schedule comes out in July/August through their mailing list or on request. You book for at most 4 people; after confirmation you pay a deposit in your name within 1–2 weeks, which you don't get back if you cancel. There is a waiting list: if you are on it, you may have to come at ~20 hours' notice. 2023 prices (ask): with a cave certification €60 per dive (deposit €30 per dive day), trial dive €110 (deposit €55); you pay the rest on site, in cash only. On the dive day: meet at 8:45, the gallery opens at 9:00, everyone is out of the water by 15:00 at the latest and the locked car park is empty at 16:00. First-time visitors get an introduction on site. On arrival the dive leader (TEL) checks your registration and deposit, logbook, dive medical, insurance and certification; each team signs out with the TEL before the dive and back in after it. You carry your gear ~100 m in over the old Bremsberg (incline). A wheelbarrow is available on site. Inside there are kitting-up tables and a platform to enter the water. Toilets are in the company building.
Around Altes Kalkbergwerk Miltitz
Fills3 fill stations · nearest 23 km
Tauchtreff Dresden
Dornblüthstraße 19, 01277 Dresden
Air to 300 bar; nitrox and trimix mostly during opening hours, on Saturdays by appointment and on Miltitz days often from ~16:00 too
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 10:00–18:30; Sat 9:00–13:00; closed Wed
Dive school and shop that runs the diving in Miltitz (cave training in the mine); rental, servicing and regulator overhauls. Miltitz is ~30 min away.
Tauchsportcenter Sachsenluft (Chemnitz)
Augustusburger Straße 31–33, 09111 Chemnitz
Air (per 200bar.de); nitrox, trimix and O₂: ask
Ask
Dive school that runs the diving in the Felsendome Rabenstein (mandatory briefing, cavern and cave courses). Address per dark-team.de.
Füllstation Chemnitz
Schulstraße 11, 09125 Chemnitz
Air to 300 bar, oxygen and helium (per dark-team.de) — ask
Ask
Fill station listed in the dark-team.de dive-site database (photo from 2016). Whether visitors can fill without an appointment is unknown — call ahead. ~15 min from the Felsendome, ~50 min from Crottendorf.
The links to Booking.com are affiliate links: if you book through one, DiveTripPlanner earns a small commission. You pay the same.
Caves nearby1 within 50 km
News
All (1)
Accidents and incidents
What happened at this cave before, with the sources. No names are given; read it as a lesson for your own planning.
- Fatal accident on 11 October 2015 during a planned dive to ~-40 m with scooters and stage cylinders (trimix and oxygen). According to the dive club's analysis a diver probably switched to the oxygen stage by mistake at -40 m (oxygen convulsion); the buddy reached the exit after a difficult return low on gas. The mine was then temporarily closed to divers and reopened with stricter rules (since November 2015 e.g. no scooters).
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.
More of the latest in Saxony (Germany): conditions, closures and news →Going to Saxony with your team?
Marcel finds the sites that match your team's certifications.
Plan a trip