Bastei
Encyclopedia
Elbe Sandstone Mountains
The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe sandstone highlands is a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side...
of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Reaching a height of 305 metres above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago. They are situated near Rathen
Rathen
Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about 35 km southeast of Dresden on the Elbe River. Rathen has between 400 and 500 inhabitants....
, not far from Pirna
Pirna
Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt...
southeast of the city of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and are the major landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
of the Saxon Switzerland National Park
Saxon Switzerland National Park
The Saxon Switzerland National Park , is a National Park in the German Free State of Saxony near the capital city of Dresden. It covers two areas of 93.5 km² in the heart of the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains which is called the Saxon Switzerland .The National Park is not far away...
. They are also part of a climbing and hiking area that runs over border into the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Bohemian Switzerland.
The Bastei has been a tourist attraction
Attraction
In general, an attraction draws one object towards another one. The term may have the following specific meanings.* In physics, attraction may refer to gravity or to the electromagnetic force* Attractiveness...
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 several well-known artists, among them Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...
(i.e. "Felsenschlucht" )
The spa town of Rathen
Rathen
Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about 35 km southeast of Dresden on the Elbe River. Rathen has between 400 and 500 inhabitants....
is the main base for visiting the Bastei; the town can be reached from Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
by paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
on the river Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
.
Another famous landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
in the local area is the fortress of Königstein
Königstein Fortress
Königstein Fortress , 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...
.
History
The very name Bastei ("bastion") indicates the inclusion of the steep, towering rocks in the old defensive ring around Neurathen CastleNeurathen Castle
Neurathen Castle , which was first mentioned by this name in 1755 , is located near the famous Bastei rocks near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German Free 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...
. In 1592 the rock is first mentioned by Matthias Oeder in the course of the first state survey by the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
as Pastey. As the region of Saxon Switzerland was explored and developed for tourism, the Bastei rocks became one of its first tourist attractions. Its viewing point was first referred to in travel literature in 1798 in a publication by Christian August Gottlob Eberhard
Christian August Gottlob Eberhard
Christian August Gottlob Eberhard was a German miscellaneous writer.He was born at Belzig, in the Electorate of Saxony. He studied theology at Leipzig; but, having had a story successfully published in a periodical, he began a career in literature...
. One of the first walking guides who took visitors to the Bastei was Carl Heinrich Nicolai, who wrote in 1801: "What depth of feeling it pours into the soul! You can stand here for a long time without being finished with it (…) it is so difficult to tear yourself away from this spot"
To begin with the Bastei was only comparatively easily accessible from Wehlen and Lohmen. Numerous artists reached the Bastei over the so-called Artists' Way, the Malerweg. Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...
painted his famous picture Felsenpartie im Elbsandsteingebirge ("Rocks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains") based on the Bastei. Ludwig Richter also sketched the Bastei. From Rathen, access used to be more difficult; but in 1814 a staircase with 487 steps was laid that climbed out of the Wehlgrund
Wehlgrund
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...
valley past the Vogeltelle to the rocks.
At Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
in 1812 the Lohmen butcher, Pietzsch, started the first catering services for visitors to the Bastei. From two simple huts he sold bread, butter, beer, brandy, coffee and milk. Two years later a kitchen and a cellar were built below one of the rock overhangs and the viewing point was fitted with a railing. In February 1816 Pietzsch was given a licence to sell spirits; unfortunately the modest huts he had built were destroyed in a fire in September that same year. In June 1819, August von Goethe reported: "Friendly huts and good service with coffee, double beer, spirits and fresh bread and butter really revived the tired walker...". In 1820 the spirit licence went to the Rathen judge (Erblehnrichter), Schedlich.
The develop of the Bastei was given significant impetus in 1826. That year the first solid inn building was erected with overnight accommodation, based on plans by Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer
Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer
Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer was a German representative of neoclassical architecture.- Education and early work:...
. From then on the old huts acted as night quarters for the walking guides. Under the name Bastei Bridge (Basteibrücke) the first, wooden, bridge was built over the deep clefts of the Mardertelle, linking the outer rock shelf of the Bastei with the Steinschleuder and Neurathener Felsentor rocks. In 1851 the wooden bridge was replaced by a sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
bridge, due to the steady increase in visitors, that is still standing today. It is 76.5 m long and its seven arches span a ravine 40 m deep, known as the Mardertelle.
At the end of the 19th century the Bastei finally developed into the main attraction of Saxon Switzerland. The existing inn was completely converted and extended in 1893/94. A high pressure water main was laid to it in 1895 and a telephone line in 1897. Around 1900, plans were laid for the construction of a mountain railway
Mountain railway
A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. Such railways can use a number of different technologies to overcome the steepness of the grade...
from the Elbe Valley to the Bastei, but these did not come to fruition. Even today a ravine southwest of the Bastei is known as the Eisenbahngründel ("Little Railway Valley"). At the beginning of the 20th century the Bastei road was widened to handle the growing motorisation.
After 1945 the number of visitors increased sharply again, especially at weekends and public holidays, as the Bastei became a place of mass tourism. Between 1975 and 1979 the former inn was replaced by a large, new building, later a hotel.
Tourism
The Bastei is one of the most prominent viewing points in Saxon Switzerland. In 1819 August von Goethe extolled the views: "Here, from where you see right down to the Elbe from the most rugged rocks, where a short distance away the crags of the Lilien-, König- and Pffafen-stein stand scenically together and the eye takes in a sweeping view that can never be described in words." Today the Bastei still has the highest number of visitors of all the viewing points in Saxon Switzerland.In addition to the actual vista there are also other points of interest. At the Jahrhundertturm, a rock pinnacle on the Bastei Bridge, there are tablets commemorating the first mention of the Bastei in travel literature (in 1797) as well as the memory of Wilhelm Lebrecht Götzinger and Carl Heinrich Nicolai. These last two were amongst the pioneers of tourism in Saxon Switzerland, thanks to their descriptions of their journeys and their other works. Another tablet commemorates the Saxon court photographer, Hermann Krone, who took the first landscape photographs in Germany at the Bastei Bridge in 1853. From the Ferdinandstein, part of the Wehltürme rock towers, there is a famous view of the Bastei Bridge. It is reached over a branch from the route to the bridge. Another well-known rock formation in the vicinity of the Bastei is the Wartturm
Wartturm (crag)
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....
, a large piece of which broke off in 2000.
Neurathen Castle
Neurathen Castle
Neurathen Castle , which was first mentioned by this name in 1755 , is located near the famous Bastei rocks near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German Free 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...
, the largest rock castle in Saxon Switzerland may be reached from the Bastei by crossing the Bastei Bridge. The ruins of the castle, some timber rebates, rooms carved out of the rock, a cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
and stone shot from a medieval catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
or slingshot
Slingshot
A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...
may be viewed on a self-conducted circular walk. A replica slingshot was put on display in the castle in 1986. The finds from excavations in the area, especially pottery, can also be seen. The climb from Rathen to the Bastei runs past an open air museum dedicated to Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
settlement in the region and also past the path leading to the Rathen Open Air Stage
Rathen Open Air Stage
The Rathen Open Air Stage 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 Eisenach–Budapest mountain path runs over the Bastei.
Nature conservation
As early as the turn of the 20th century, nature conservationists were pressing for the protection of the unique rock landscape around the Bastei. Plans for the construction of a mountain railway were thus prevented. In 1938 the Bastei became the first nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains
Elbe Sandstone Mountains
The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe sandstone highlands is a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side...
. Today it is part of the core zone of the Saxon Switzerland National Park
Saxon Switzerland National Park
The Saxon Switzerland National Park , is a National Park in the German Free State of Saxony near the capital city of Dresden. It covers two areas of 93.5 km² in the heart of the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains which is called the Saxon Switzerland .The National Park is not far away...
, in which especially strict conservation rules apply.
Sources
- Alfred Meiche: Historisch-Topographische Beschreibung der Amtshauptmannschaft Pirna. Verlag Buchdruckerei von Baensch-Stiftung, Dresden 1927
- Richard Vogel, Dieter Beeger: Gebiet Königstein - Sächsische Schweiz. Reihe Werte unserer Heimat Bd. 1, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1985