Seldom have we stayed in a extra enchanting realm. Saxon Switzerland impresses with imposing desk mountains and weird rock formations. It ignites your creativeness with its gnarled forest paths, moss-clad boulders and slim ravines from the place a light-weight mist emanates, like if this historic earth quietly exhaled. It’s simple to imagine in gnomes and elves on this fairytale panorama.
Saxon Switzerland is a National Park within the east of Germany, within the area of Saxony, near the Czech border. On the Czech aspect they, then again, have their Bohemian Switzerland National Park. The two parks share the identical pure marvel: the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. This is likely one of the most peculiar landscapes of Europe: The mountains are flat on prime, the rocks have weird kinds and the local weather is upside-down.
Geological marvel
The sand sticking to your mountain climbing boot, if you’re out exploring the world, is with compliments from prehistoric occasions, 140 million years in the past, when the world was lined by ocean.
Over hundreds of thousands of years, layers of sand and different minerals had been deposited right here, reaching a thickness of 600 metres. Slowly, these layers compressed and solidified into sandstone. Around 100 million years in the past, the sandstone plate lifted and broke into items. The Cretaceous seas retracted, and frost, wind and water started their sluggish and affected person remoulding of the sandstone. Volcanos erupted right here and there, giving beginning to the conic hills of right now, equivalent to Raumberg, Grosser and Kleiner Winterberg (any title ending with -berg, tells a story of a volcanic origin).
Over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, the Elbe river cuts even deeper into the sandstone, and it eroded into gorges and valleys, peculiar geoforms and the desk mountains that tower majestically above the Elbe river right now. Lilienstein, Königstein and all different -stein are all born out of the sandstone and thus share that household title.
The rocks you encounter alongside the best way will let you know their very own story of this lengthy historical past. Eventually, in 1000’s of years, they too will find yourself as sand beneath our ft. Better exit and revel in them whereas we will.
Hiker’s paradise
Hiking is at the start essentially the most intensive strategy to expertise the variety of the panorama of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. There are greater than 1.000 kilometres of mountain climbing trails in Saxon Switzerland alone. And solely hardly ever does it simply go straight. Bridges lead over gorges and fissures, trails result in panoramic views or follows a transparent stream within the forest valley. And on the edges of the desk mountains, stairs and iron ladders await the adventurous hiker.
The rocks come inside attain. You can learn the million-year-old historical past on their floor and attempt to grasp the geologic growth of the world. Our favorite hikes had been these of Bastei, Bielatal, Pfaffenstein and Affensteine.
Romantic painters – and a path to find them
We have climbed the path for what looks as if an eternity. Then, arrived on the correct peak, the Elbe river flows graciously underneath us, nonetheless preventing the morning fog that adheres to its waters. It’s a fairytale view from the Schrammsteine – no marvel that it impressed many Romantic painters and writers 200 years in the past, ultimately turning the Saxon Switzerland to an early vacationer vacation spot in Germany.
“Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer” is a well-known portray from 1818 by Caspar David Friedrich and exemplifies the Romantic motion and advertises the view in brushstrokes. And each view from the Carolafelsen may simply double because the well-known background of the portray. But then once more; so may numerous others on the so-called Malerweg, the Painter’s Trail.
This 116 kilometre mountain climbing route will take you previous among the most picturesque landscapes of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. And although you might not have introduced your brush and easel, just like the painters of the Romantic motion did 200 years in the past, you may seize these immortal views on digital camera.
Top 5 Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland is an ideal vacation spot for a one-week getaway! Combining journeys to the pure sights within the nationwide park with visits to Dresden with its refine baroque structure and beautiful artwork museums, makes an ideal combo for virtually everybody!
With a lot to see and so little time, we’ve boiled down the highlights to our private Top5 of the belongings you positively shouldn’t miss and which might provide you with an total sense of the grandeur of Saxon Switzerland!
Bastei: Iconic pure attraction
These jagged rock formations are probably the most iconic, pure sights of the Saxon Switzerland. They rise 194 metres above the Elbe River and had been fashioned by water erosion million years in the past.
Because of its recognition we selected (correctly, in hindsight) to reach early as to catch the morning fog earlier than it lifted, in addition to catching a free parking area earlier than they had been missing.
Both the hike on the Bastei, wanting down on the rock formations, and the following stroll by the so-called Schwedenlöcher, wanting up on the towering boulders, was deservedly top-of-the-line in Saxon Switzerland!
Bielatal: Gigantic Geoformations
As we climb yet one more steep rock, we’re out of the blue there: on the Herkulessäulen. These slender rock pillars rise 35 meters from the forest ground and regardless that they appear awfully fragile, they’re sturdy sufficient to accommodate climbers. A climber rappels down the seemingly insurmountable rock face. Just to show our level.
The Hercules pillars are however a number of of the various weird rock formations all through your entire Biela valley. With 239 peaks it’s additionally the most important climbing space in Saxon Switzerland. And even when you’re not a climber, this can be a good spot to get shut and private with these wonders of nature.
Schrammsteine & Affensteine: Dramatic views and daring trails
Ding! “Welcome to Czech Republic” our telephones proclaim. Ding! “Welcome to Germany” an SMS 2 minutes later greets us.
We have begun our hike to the so-called Affensteine (Monkey stones) and Carolafelsen (Carola Rock) from the charming village of Schmilka, simply 400 metres from the Germany-Czech border. And though the path doesn’t cross any border, our telephones trumpet their imagined worldwide travels.
This space is the southernmost of the nationwide park Saxon Switzerland and awards you with wonderful views. But not till you’ve earned them by schlepping your self 250 vertical metres up the path.
At each flip there’s a new perspective. Across treacherous roots, underneath big boulders and alongside steep cliffs, the path meanders by the jagged mountains. Carolafelsen provides each awe-inspiring views in addition to a sun-kissed spot to benefit from the lunch, earlier than we head again on the path. The higher Affensteine path will take you thru this wonderful space, that gives most likely essentially the most difficult hikes in Saxon Switzerland. Stay tuned for an additional article about one of the best mountain climbing routes in Saxon Switzerland, the place we’ll describe one of the best path to find Schrammsteine, Affensteine and Carolafelsen.
Kirnitzschklamm: Boat On The Border
The small river of Kirnitzsch is a minuscule model of that prehistoric physique of water that carved out the valley of Kirnitzschtal and made it probably the most fashionable entryway into the center of Saxon Switzerland.
After having adopted the winding highway by the beautiful valley and left the vacationer plenty behind us, we park the automobile and hike down in the direction of the river. We are occurring a ship journey.
The Kirnitzsch river follows the border between Germany and Czech Republic at this level, and is dammed for about 700 metres. On this dam, small boats have paddled vacationers by the enchanting canyon since 1879. The barred river is not more than 8°C and a light-weight mist emanates from its darkish floor because the boatman ferries us alongside by the slim gorge. On each side of the river, border plates inform their story of a time when the nation to the fitting was named DDR and the nation to the left was Czechoslovakia.
The boat journey solely takes half-hour and we may simply have saved the 8€ per individual by mountain climbing alongside the river. BUT then we wouldn’t have heard all these enjoyable tales of the ferryman, or seen the steep cliffs mirror within the murky water the identical means.. A (boat)journey value taking – particularly with youngsters.
Pfaffenstein & Barbarine: Close contact with the Elbe Sandstone Mountains
If you need to get intimate with one of many iconic desk mountains of Saxon Switzerland, we recommend a go to to Pfaffenstein. It’s not a far stroll from the automobile park, it’s not a strenuous climb and but you’re awarded with towering cliffs, slim gorges and ideal views to the remainder of this wonderful National Park.
We suggest to take the “Klammweg” up; the highway left of the imposing Jäckelfels. Here, stairs will take you intimately near the mountain till you attain a plateau the place there’s a small inn. You can replenish right here in the summertime months, earlier than exploring the ruins and enterprise by the slim “Hohle Gasse“, probably regretting if you had too much to eat in the inn. Reaching another plateau, you are awarded with impressive views to the south. Remember to go into that little crevasse to the left where you get up close and personal with the geoformation “Barbarine” that stands like a tall phallic image pointing to the east.
If you’re sure-footed and have introduced a headlamp, I counsel coming right here for the dawn, as you’re granted magical views of the solar rising over Saxon Switzerland.
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