Drachenhöhle

A 542-metre-long cave near Mixnitz, Styria, Austria, with a 20-metre-wide entrance at 950 metres elevation, famous as one of Europe's richest cave bear fossil deposits. It contains an estimated 30,000 skeletal remains of Ursus ingressus from the Pleistocene epoch. Medieval villagers mistook the bones for dragon remains, giving rise to the legend of the "Dragon Slayer of Mixnitz". During WWI-era phosphate mining (1918-1923), Paleolithic stone tools and hearth remains of the Aurignacian culture dated to 67,000-33,000 years ago were unearthed, ranking among the oldest evidence of human presence in Austria. Protected as a natural monument since 1949.