Amsel Falls

The Schwedenturm ("Sweden Tower") in East Germany is a 35-metre-high rock formation made of sandstone in the hills of Saxon Switzerland near the spa town of Rathen and the famous Bastei rocks. From the car park for the Bastei, a path runs towards Schwedenlöcher. The Schwedenturm is situated on the right just before the entrance to a narrow ravine. Because it lies in the Saxon Switzerland Climbing Region the free-standing pinnacle may be used for climbing. Currently, there are 14 different climbing routes up the rock. It was here that the first grade Xb route in the mountain range was successfully climbed, route 6 (Versuch), by Bernd Arnold. The Schwedenturm was first climbed in 1905 by Rudolf Fehrmann and his brother Arymund.

The Schwedenlöcher is a gorge-like side valley of the Amselgrund near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland.

The Amselgrund ("Amsel Bottom") is the name given to the valley of the Grünbach stream in the heart of Saxon Switzerland in Eastern Germany. It runs from Niederrathen upstream to Rathewalde. The wild and romantic valley takes hikers through the Rathen rock basin with its bizarre rock formations. Its touristic high points are the lake of Amselsee and the Amsel Falls, that trickles over the grotto called the Amselloch. The valley bottom that is densely wooded is surrounded by a backdrop of rocks. To the west tower the rocks of the Gansfelsen, to the south the Feldsteine and the Türkenkopf, and to the east rise the Honigsteine rocks with the striking Lokomotive. The middle of the valley bottom is dominated by the striking Talwächter. Whilst the character of the valley profile in its upper reaches is rather ravine-like, between its entrance to the Schwedenlöcher and Niederrathen it is a steep valley. On the stream bed ripple marks may be seen. Above the Amsel Falls, large, fallen sandstone boulders block the watercourse, so that the rather lower water quantities of the Grünbach have to find their way past them.

The Rathen Open Air Stage (German: Felsenbühne Rathen) is a natural stage in Saxon Switzerland in East Germany. It is located in a hollow at the upper end of the Wehlgrund valley between the rocks of Kleine Gans and Großer Wehrturm below the famous Bastei rocks and Neurathen Castle. The entrance to the hollow branches off just above the valley's junction with the Amselgrund.

The Wehlgrund in Saxon Switzerland in Eastern Germany is a right-hand, side valley of the Amselgrund, between the Bastei massif and the Kleiner Gans. Amongst the steep rock faces of the upper valley and the heavily divided head of the valley is the romantic and natural backdrop for the Rathen Open Air Stage. The Wehlgrundbach flows along the valley bottom and empties into the Grünbach in the Amselgrund valley a short distance above Niederrathen. North of the open air stage near the rocks of the Gänse rises the imposing Wehlnadel and, in its vicinity, are the Wehltürme rock towers. The Bastei may be reached from the Wehlgrund over the Rathen Staircase (Rathener Treppe) of 487 steps.

The Amselsee (also Amselsee Rathen) is a small reservoir in the spa town of Rathen in Saxon Switzerland. It is located in the Free State of Saxony in Eastern Germany.

Neurathen Castle (German: Felsenburg Neurathen), which was first mentioned by this name in 1755, is located near the famous Bastei rocks near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German state of Saxony. This was once the largest rock castle in the region, but today only the rooms carved out of the rock, passages, the cistern and the beam supports of the former wooden superstructure have survived. In the years 1982–1984 parts of the extensive castle were used to build the open-air museum.

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 (Czech Republic). The Bastei has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years. In 1824, a wooden bridge was constructed to link several rocks for the visitors. This bridge was replaced in 1851 by the present Bastei Bridge made of sandstone. The rock formations and vistas have inspired numerous artists, among them Caspar David Friedrich ("Felsenschlucht") The spa town of Rathen is the main base for visiting the Bastei; the town can be reached from Dresden by paddle steamer on the river Elbe.

The Mönch (also Mönchstein) is a rock pinnacle and popular climbing peak in Saxon Switzerland in Germany near the spa town of Rathen. The weather vane on the summit, in the shape of a tin monk, is visible from afar and acts as a navigation aid. In the Middle Ages the rock was used as a lookout for Neurathen Castle due to its prominent location. From that time stems the Mönchsloch ("Monk's Hole") hewn out of the rock just below the summit, a shelter about 1.75 metres high and 1.35 metres deep that was used by the guard post of the castle. The rock castle was destroyed in 1469 and fell into ruins. With it disappeared the medieval staircase that enabled the Mönch to be climbed, although traces of the timber beams remain today. Since that time the summit may only be reached by climbing. The rocks were occasionally climbed thereafter; tradition recording ascents in the years 1632, 1777 and 1803. After gymnasts from Bad Schandau had made the first recreational ascent of the Falkenstein in 1864, the first ascent of the Mönch for similar reasons followed 10 years later, in 1874, made by O. Ufer and H. Frick. This was the first ascent of a climbing rock in Saxon Switzerland without artificial aids; whereas hitherto ladders or artificially hewn steps and the like had been used. Climbing without artificial aids is still an important point in the Saxon climbing rules valid today. The Southeast Way (Südostweg) used by Ufer and Frick (Saxon climbing grade III) is still a popular climbing route today. Since the first recreational ascent of the Mönch, a multitude of other climbing routes have been opened. Even well-known climbers like Oscar Schuster, Rudolf Fehrmann, Emanuel Strubich and Bernd Arnold have made the first ascent of climbing routes on the Mönch. The most difficult ascents in the north face reach levels of difficulty of Saxon grade ten. In 1887 a weather vane was erected on the Mönch, as was common on other peaks in the area in those times. The vane was in the shape of a monk's silhouette. Whilst most of the weather vanes and summit symbols were destroyed or dismantled again in the succeeding decades, that on the Mönch was one of the few that remained in Saxon Switzerland. The original figure suffered damage, in 1928 and 1930, and was replaced in 1957 by a faithful replica. The original monk of 1887 may be seen in the museum in Bad Schandau.

The Lokomotive (German for "locomotive") is a striking climbing rock north of Kurort Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in Germany. The rock, which resembles a steam locomotive in appearance, is also known as Große Ruine, is about 30 metres high and is divided into two parts: known as Lokomotive-Dom ("Locomotive Dome") and Lokomotive-Esse ("Locomotive Chimney"). The ridge between the two is called the Kesselgrat ("Boiler Ridge"), the rock teeth next to the Esse as Pfeife ("Whistle"). For a short time there was a weather vane on the dome in the shape of a wheel. The Lokomotive rises on the massif of the Honigsteine. The Dome of the Lokomotive was first climbed in 1886 by Friedrich Hartmann and Robert Kappmeier. In the history of free climbing in Saxon Switzerland the climb of the Esse on 7 June 1903 by Albert Kunze and Oliver Perry-Smith was the first ascent of the Esse and the first step in climbing the open face. Until then climbers had focussed on chimneys and crevices. The first ascent of the grade V Lokomotivüberfall climbing route on the Esse unleashed an intensive period of climbing in Saxon Switzerland that lasted until 1910, during which climbers like Kunze, Perry-Smith and Rudolf Fehrmann made the first ascent of many important climbing peaks, like the Barbarine, the Große Herkulessäule, the Jungfer or the Teufelsturm.

The Wartturm is a rock tower in Saxon Switzerland in East Germany near the famous Bastei rocks. It stands high above the Elbe, just below the town of Rathen and dominates the view from the Bastei and Rathen looking downstream. On 22 November 2000 the Wartturm was the scene of one of the most spectacular rockfalls for decades in Saxon Switzerland. About a third of the rock broke off and some 450 m³ of sandstone with an estimated weight of 800 tonnes crashed over 60 to 75 m into the valley. It was the largest quantity of falling rock since a slide in 1961 on the Bienenkorb, which did not fall from such a great height. The cause was suspected to be progressive weathering of a fissure running through the rock. A climber, who was staying in a hut below the rock, was uninjured because the boulders landed a few metres away from the hut. Despite the loss of large sections of rock the Wartturm continues to be a popular climbing peak in the Saxon Switzerland Climbing Region. As a result of the rockfall at the Wartturm, the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology of the Free State of Saxony has begun test drilling to investigate more closely the causes of rockfalls and the long term progress of weathering of sandstone in Saxon Switzerland.

Altrathen Castle (German: Burg Altrathen) is located on a rock outcrop near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German state of Saxony.