The Bastei

The Bastei is one of the most striking viewpoints in Saxon Switzerland and counts about 1.5 million visitors per year. There is no other point in the German national parks with such a high density of visitors. Already August von Goethe praised the view in 1819: "Here, where one sees from the most rugged rock faces straight into the Elbe, where in the small distance the Lilien-, König- and Pfaffen-Stein lie grinded Mahlerisch and at all the eye represents a whole which can never be described in words ". Today, the Bastei has the highest visitor numbers of all viewpoints in Saxon Switzerland. In addition to the actual view, there are even more touristy points. At the tower of the century, a rocky peak on the Bastei Bridge, there are commemorative plaques for the first mention of the bastion in the travel literature (in 1797) as well as for Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger and Carl Heinrich Nicolai. These two are due to their travel descriptions and works to the "discoverers" of Saxon Switzerland as a tourist destination. Another commemorative plaque commemorates the Saxon court photographer Hermann Krone, who shot the first landscape photos in Germany on the Bastei bridge in 1853. From the Ferdinandstein, part of the Wehltürme, the famous view of the Bastei bridge is possible. You can reach it via a branch on the way to the Bastei bridge. Another well-known formation near the bastion is the Wartturm, from which a large piece was demolished in 2000. From the bastion you reach over the Bastei Bridge also the rock castle Neurathen, the largest rock castle in Saxon Switzerland. The remains of the castle, such as Balkenfalze and hewn from the rock spaces, a cistern and found stone balls medieval slingshot or catapults can be visited on a private tour. A reconstructed slingshot was set up in 1986 in the rock castle. You can also visit finds of the excavations, especially ceramics. Finally, the ascent of Rathen leads to the bastion of an open-air museum to the Slavic settlement of the area and the branch to the rock stage Rathen over.

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