List of show caves in Germany

The list of show caves in Germany contains all 51 show caves in Germany which are hosted by the German Speleological Federation. ()
Background.
As of 2008, there have been 51 show caves in Germany, which are hosted by the German Speleological Federation (). 
A show cave is defined as any cave equipped for tourists, by having walkways or steps, fitted with lighting, or supplying gear, as examples. Show caves have regular opening times, usually with regular guided tours of about 30 to 45 minutes duration and are almost all electrically lighted. Only the Easter Cave and the Schellenberg Ice Cave still use carbide lamps. In 1884 the Olga Cave was the first German show cave to be equipped with electrical lighting and the second in the world to be thus fitted. Only the Kraus Cave in the Styria in Austria was equipped earlier, in 1883.
Not included on this list are the artificially created caverns Schlossberg Caves and Saalfeld Fee Grottos, although these are listed with the German Speleological Federation, as their operators are paying members.
Also not in the main list is Balve Cave, because it has no regular guided tours or visits. 
Included is the Dienstedt Karst Cave, which is not part of the German Speleological Federation, but fulfils all the conditions of a show cave.
The cave which had the first guided tours was Baumann's Cave in the Rübeland; Tours of this cave were organised as early as 1646 and it was visited by Goethe. The latest to be opened as a show cave was the Autumn Labyrinth in 2009.
More than half the show caves are dripstone caves. The Wimsen Cave is the only show cave in Germany accessible by boat, for a distance of 70 metres. The Goetz Cave is the only fissure cave in the list and the largest publicly accessible cave in Europe. The Laichingen Vertical Cave is the only shaft cave that can be viewed in Germany, having a depth of 55 metres below the entrance and reaches the greatest depth of any German show cave. The Schellenberg Ice Cave is the only ice cave in Germany that can be visited. In the Barbarossa Cave, which is formed of anhydrite stone, loose layers of plaster hang like wallpaper from the ceilings and walls.
Disputed caves.
Several caves are sometimes described in the literature as "show caves", although they do not meet the criteria. These include the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes and Schlossberg Caves which are not "natural caverns", but mines, and the Zwiefaltendorf Limestone Cave and the Balve Cave, which have no "regular guided tours".