Weighing about 1,000 kg and standing up to 3.7 meters tall, these peaceful herbivores roamed through Central Switzerland in the summer. They spent the winter conserving their energy in caves, such as the Steigelfadbalm Cave above Vitznau.

Joseph Wilhelm Amrein-Küpfer, the son of the founders of the Glacier Garden, was a pioneer of archaeology in Central Switzerland. During excavations at the Steigelfadbalm between 1913 and 1937, he discovered significant quantities of cave bear bones. A complete specimen of a cave bear could not be found at that time. The skeleton on display in a glass case at the Gletschergarten Luzern therefore consists of bones from various cave bears that had lived in the Eastern Alps. A recent study revealed that the bone material from the Steigelfadbalm is approximately 30,000 years old and thus dates from the late phase of the last Ice Age.

Note: The Steigelfadbalm can be reached in about an hour via a marked hiking trail starting from the Hinterbergen mountain station. This historic site on the Rigi above Vitznau offers a fantastic view of Lake Lucerne and the mountains—and a striking glimpse into the depths of time.