Bastei and spa town Rathen

Basteibrücke Rathen

The rocky area of the Bastei with its Bastei Bridge is the most popular attraction of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains.
From here, the narrow rocky reef drops steeply out to the Elbe. The view downstream towards Pirna, Lilienstein and many more is gorgeous.
The Bastei Bridge itself is about 75m long and spans seven arches over a 40m deep canyon. As the name implies, the bridge was a part of the defensive ring of the rock castle Neurathen, which can be visited on a tour of the rock summit.
At the foot of the Bastei there is the idyllic spa town of Rathen with its rocky stage and the Amselsee. The rocky stage of Rathen is the largest natural theatre of Europe. Plays of the Saxony Theatre for young and old are performed from May to September.

The Amselsee in the middle of a steeply rising rock invites to a trip in the gondola.

Here you can rest before climbing upstairs hundreds of steps over the “Sweden Holes” to the Bastei.