Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It is located around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany, adjoining Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. Together with the Czech part, the region is known as Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland.
Pirna is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt.
The Falkenstein is one of the best-known climbing peaks in Saxon Switzerland. It is situated near the rocky Schrammsteine ridge southeast of the town of Bad Schandau. The Falkenstein is nearly 90 m high and consists of sandstone. In the Middle Ages there were fortifications on top of the rock. Even today, the steps carved into the rock are still visible.
The Bastei is a rock formation rising 194 metres (636 ft) above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of 305 metres (1,001 ft) above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago. They are situated near Rathen, not far from Pirna southeast of the city of Dresden, and are the major landmark of the Saxon Switzerland National Park. They are also part of a climbing and hiking area that extends over the borders into the Bohemian Switzerland.
Johann Gottfried Schnabel was a German writer best known for his novel Insel Felsenburg. He published his works under the pen name Gisander.
Hohnstein Castle is a medieval castle in the village of the same name, Hohnstein in Saxon Switzerland in the Free State of Sachsen in East Germany.
The Pfaffenstein, formerly called the Jungfernstein, is a table hill, 434.6 m (1,426 ft) above sea level, in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Saxony. It lies west of the River Elbe near Königstein and is also referred to as "Saxon Switzerland in miniature" on account of its diverse structure.
The Winterstein, also called the Hinteres Raubschloss, is an isolated, elongated rock massif in the hinterland of Saxon Switzerland in East Germany. On the summit there was once a medieval castle, also called Winterstein, of which remains such as rebates for timber beams, hewn-out steps and cisterns are still visible.
Altrathen Castle is located on a rock outcrop near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German state of Saxony.
Grillenburg Sandstone and Niederschöna Sandstone belong to the Elbe Sandstones of central Europe. There used to be a number of sandstone quarries in the Tharandt Forest and its neighbourhood, not far from Höckendorf and Ruppendorf, near Grillenburg, Niederschöna and Hetzdorf in the state of Saxony. These Cretaceous sandstones emerged in the Cenomanian and Turonian ages. The aforementioned quarries have long since closed.
A rock castle is a type of medieval castle that directly incorporates natural rock outcrops into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle. Topographically, rock castles are classified as hill castles.
Altzella Abbey, also Altzelle Abbey, is a former Cistercian monastery near Nossen in Saxony, Germany. The former abbey contains the tombs of the Wettin margraves of Meissen from 1190 to 1381.
The Holy Way came about as a result of the canonization of Bishop Benno of Meissen. It led from Bohemia to Meissen and ran between Grillenburg and Wilsdruff in the present-day district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge in the opposite direction and parallel with the Saxon St. James' Way. Original sections of the route have survived, for example in the Tharandt Forest between Grillenburg and Spechtshausen.
The Treaty of Weißenfels was a treaty signed on 1 July 1249 at Weißenfels Castle in the wake of the War of the Thuringian Succession.
The Dresden-Klotzsche–Dresden Airport railway is a single-track, electrified main line in Saxony, Germany. It runs from Dresden-Klotzsche station on the Görlitz–Dresden railway to Dresden Airport and today it is served exclusively by the Dresden S-Bahn.
The ruins of Thüngfelderstein Castle, also called Eberhardstein Castle, are the burgstall of a demolished hill castle on a block of rock near Morschreuth in the south German state of Bavaria. The site lies within the market municipality of Gößweinstein in the county of Forchheim.
The burgstall or site of Bieberbach Castle is a ruined mediaeval spur castle at a elevation of 530 m above sea level (NN) on a rock formation in the southern part of the parish of Bieberbach, in the market municipality of Egloffstein in the county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria.
The burgstall of Dörnhof Castle is the site of a demolished, medieval lowland castle situated at a height of 400 m above sea level (NHN) in the vicinity of Dörnhof Farm near the village of Dörnhof, part of Gräfenberg in the county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria.
Ebermannstadt Castle is a levelled medieval motte castle on the heights of the Franconian Jura at Wacht Knock, west of the town of Ebermannstadt in the county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria. It is one of the mightiest motte and bailey castles.
The ruins of Streitburg Castle (German: Burgruine Streitburg or Streitberg Castle are the remains of a high mediaeval aristocratic castle above the village of Streitberg, in the market borough of Wiesenttal in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the German state of Bavaria. They lie directly opposite the ruins of Neideck Castle, the symbol of Franconian Switzerland, on the other side of the valley.
