Königstein (hill)

Königstein (Upper Sorbian: Kralowc, pronounced [ˈkʁalɔfts]) is a town on the river Elbe in Saxony in Germany. Königstein lies in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge District and had a population of 2,089 in 2018. It includes land on both banks of the Elbe, but the centre and most of the town lies to the south of the river. The Königstein Fortress is situated above and to the south-west of the town.

The Biela (German name) or Bělá or Ostrovská Bělá (Czech names) is a river in eastern Germany and northern Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe. The source is near Ostrov hamlet in the municipality of Tisá, in the Bohemian Switzerland, northwest of Děčín. After a few km it crosses into Saxony (and the Saxon Switzerland). The town Königstein is located at the confluence of the Biela with the Elbe.

Oflag IV-B Koenigstein was a German POW camp for Allied officers during World War II. It was located in Festung Königstein ("Königstein Fortress") near the town of Königstein in Saxony.

Königstein Fortress (German: Festung Königstein), the "Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one of the largest hilltop fortifications in Europe and sits atop the table hill of the same name. The 9.5-hectare (23-acre) rock plateau rises 240 metres (790 ft) above the Elbe and has over 50 buildings, some over 400 years old, that bear witness to the military and civilian life in the fortress. The rampart run of the fortress is 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) long with walls up to 42 metres (138 ft) high and steep sandstone faces. In the centre of the site is a 152.5-metre-deep (500 ft 4 in) well, which is the deepest in Saxony and second-deepest well in Europe. The fortress, which for centuries was used as a state prison, is still intact and is now one of Saxony's foremost tourist attractions, with 700,000 visitors per year.

The Quirl is a low table hill, 349 metres high, in Saxon Switzerland, west of the River Elbe.

Königstein (Sächsische Schweiz) is a station on the Dresden to Děčín line that serves the town of Königstein in the German state of Saxony.The station is served by the Dresden S-Bahn S1 service. Trains run to Pirna, Dresden and Meißen in one direction, and to Bad Schandau and Schöna in the other direction. The service provides two trains per hour in both directions for most of each day.

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 wild, jagged mountain with its numerous caves reveals traces of Stone and Bronze Age settlement and was later used frequently as a place of refuge during times of crisis as a result of its poor accessibility. Since the 19th century the Pfaffenstein has been developed for touristic purposes. The hill now boasts an inn, an observation tower, several viewing points and other places of interest on the mountain. Since the early 20th century the massif of the Pfaffenstein has been used for rock climbing and, with its 32 rocks, is one of the most important climbing areas in Saxon Switzerland. The best-known rock and symbol of the Pfaffenstein is the Barbarine, a 43-metre-high (141 ft) rock pinnacle, that has been placed out of bounds to climbers since 1975 due to serious erosion damage.

Lilienstein is a highly distinctive mountain in Saxon Switzerland, in Saxony, southeastern Germany, and was once the site of a Bohemian castle. It is one of the few table mountains on the east of the river Elbe and constitutes the symbol of the Saxon Switzerland National Park.

The Barbarine is the best-known free-standing rock formation in the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It is a rock pinnacle, 42.7 metres (140 ft) high, and is the symbol of Saxon Switzerland. It was first climbed on 19 September 1905.

The Rauenstein is a table hill in Saxon Switzerland in Germany. It rises west of the Elbe inside the Elbe loop near Rathen. It has a height of 304 metres (997 feet) and drops steeply to the north into the Elbe valley. It has a deeply incised structure and is about 600 metres (2,000 feet) long and 200 metres (660 feet) wide. It thus rises almost 100 metres (330 feet) over the surrounding area. The Rauenstein is almost completely wooded, but has several dominant sandstone rock faces. The sandstone here is very soft and heavily weathered.

The Nonne (also Nonnenstein) is a roughly 18-metre-high, isolated, standing sandstone rock and climbing peak in Saxon Switzerland in Germany. The rock is located southeast of Rathen, east of the rock chain of Rauenstein. In the Middle Ages the rock was used in the 15th century as a watchtower (Burgwarte), similar to that on the other side of the Elbe, Neurathen Castle. To that end the rock crevice below the summit plateau was widened into an artificial cave, used as a guardhouse. On the eastern side there are more traces of hammers. In addition, an artificial, earth embankment, about 35 m long, was built. Archaeological investigations ins 1963 brought to light pieces of ceramic, the spindle whorl of a spindle, the site of a hearth and fragments of charcoal. In 1888 the Nonne was climbed for the first time for fun and without using ladders. Hitherto the rocks had always been climbed with the aid of ladders even after the watchtower had closed. The Alte Weg ("Old Way", grade II in the Saxon climbing grade system) has since become a popular climbing route especially for beginners. This has however resulted in erosion damage on the surrounding areas of forest and hillsides.

The Großer Bärenstein (English: Great Bear Rock) is a 327 metres (1,073 feet) high table hill in the German region of Saxon Switzerland in the Free State of Saxony. Close by is the Kleiner Bärenstein which, together with the Großer Bärenstein, forms the massif known as the Bärensteine.