The anhydrite has formed gypsum on the surface due to the air moisture in the cave and, as a result, has increased in volume.

The resulting layers of gypsum gradually separate from the underlying rock and hang like wallpaper from the walls and ceilings of the caverns.

The cave was discovered in 1865 as a gallery was being driven during prospecting work for kupferschiefer, a copper-bearing shale or bituminous marl.

Of interest to visitors are the underground lakes whose gypsum content gives them an iridescent green colour, and a human made stone construction, known as Barbarossa's Table and Chair (Tisch und Stuhl von Barbarossa).

According to the legend, Frederick Barbarossa would sleep in an underground palace until Germany is unified.