Originally the Schwedenlöcher was an undeveloped gorge that was difficult to access and was known as the Blanker Grund. When, during the Thirty Years’ War, the village of Rathewalde to the north was destroyed by Swedish soldiers in August 1639, the peasants of the region fled into the wild gorge and carried their possessions to safety. The gorge served as a refuge during later conflicts, such as in 1706 during the Great Nordic War, in 1813 during the Wars of Liberation and in 1945 during the last days of the Second World War.
In the 1780s, the first tracks were made in the Schwedenlöchern in order to extract timber. This is recalled by several dates chiselled into the sandstone (1782, 1784, 1787).
The first touristic development of the gorge occurred comparatively late on. In 1886, at the initiative of the Alpine Club for Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland, a walkway was built through the Schwedenlöcher. To build the steps and bridges the gorge had to be artificially widened in places. The new footpath, which linked the well known rock massif of the Bastei with the Amselgrund, was opened on 1 May 1886 on the occasion of the 6th German Geographers’ Day. In 1967/68, comprehensive renovation was carried out on the path. This involved the construction of 3.5 tons of steel and 600 concrete slabs. The path has 777 steps and over 20 concrete bridges.[1]
Today the footpath through the Schwedenlöcher is one of the most popular walks in Saxon Switzerland. The Saxon Switzerland National Park authorities estimate that up to 2,000 people per day walk the path during the peak season.[2]
Rockfallsedit
The path through the narrow gorge is often threatened by rockfalls from the eroding sandstone and has had to be closed several times.
In May 2012 a tree root broke off a large piece of rock, roughly 10 cubic metres in volume. The falling rock injured seven walkers. The path had to be closed for several days while inspections of the damage and clearance work took place. In February 2013 the gorge was closed again due to the danger of falling rock. For safety reasons in August 2013 an overhanging rock was blown up.[3] The path had to be rerouted past the demolition site and was re-opened in September 2013.[4]
Oskar Lehmann: Die Bastei in der sächsischen Schweiz. Festschrift zur hundertjährigen Jubelfeier ihres Eintritts in die Geschichte am 29. Mai 1897. Köhler, Dresden, 1897 (Digitalisat)
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schwedenlöcher bei Rathen.
schwedenlöcher, gorge, like, side, valley, amselgrund, near, rathen, saxon, switzerland, historical, view, around, 1900, contents, history, rockfalls, climbing, rocks, references, literature, external, linkshistory, editthe, deeply, incised, ravine, formed, er. The Schwedenlocher is a gorge like side valley of the Amselgrund near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland The SchwedenlocherThe SchwedenlocherThe Schwedenlocher historical view around 1900 Contents 1 History 2 Rockfalls 3 Climbing rocks 4 References 5 Literature 6 External linksHistory editThe deeply incised ravine was formed by the erosion of the soft sandstone Its course follows the main direction of fissuring in the Elbe sandstone Originally the Schwedenlocher was an undeveloped gorge that was difficult to access and was known as the Blanker Grund When during the Thirty Years War the village of Rathewalde to the north was destroyed by Swedish soldiers in August 1639 the peasants of the region fled into the wild gorge and carried their possessions to safety The gorge served as a refuge during later conflicts such as in 1706 during the Great Nordic War in 1813 during the Wars of Liberation and in 1945 during the last days of the Second World War In the 1780s the first tracks were made in the Schwedenlochern in order to extract timber This is recalled by several dates chiselled into the sandstone 1782 1784 1787 The first touristic development of the gorge occurred comparatively late on In 1886 at the initiative of the Alpine Club for Saxon Bohemian Switzerland a walkway was built through the Schwedenlocher To build the steps and bridges the gorge had to be artificially widened in places The new footpath which linked the well known rock massif of the Bastei with the Amselgrund was opened on 1 May 1886 on the occasion of the 6th German Geographers Day In 1967 68 comprehensive renovation was carried out on the path This involved the construction of 3 5 tons of steel and 600 concrete slabs The path has 777 steps and over 20 concrete bridges 1 Today the footpath through the Schwedenlocher is one of the most popular walks in Saxon Switzerland The Saxon Switzerland National Park authorities estimate that up to 2 000 people per day walk the path during the peak season 2 Rockfalls editThe path through the narrow gorge is often threatened by rockfalls from the eroding sandstone and has had to be closed several times In May 2012 a tree root broke off a large piece of rock roughly 10 cubic metres in volume The falling rock injured seven walkers The path had to be closed for several days while inspections of the damage and clearance work took place In February 2013 the gorge was closed again due to the danger of falling rock For safety reasons in August 2013 an overhanging rock was blown up 3 The path had to be rerouted past the demolition site and was re opened in September 2013 4 Climbing rocks editThe Schwedenlocher are part of the Saxon Switzerland Climbing Area The climbing rock known as the Schwedenturm is next to the path It was first climbed in 1905 by Rudolf Fehrmann and his brother Arymund References edit Gebiet Konigstein Sachsische Schweiz Edition no 1 Akademie Verlag Berlin Berlin 1957 Werte der deutschen Heimat Vol 1 p 40 Felssturzgefahr in den Schwedenlochern Sachsische Zeitung Ausgabe Pirna dated 5 February 2013 Freigesprengte Schwedenlocher Sachsische Zeitung Ausgabe Pirna vom 31 August 2013 Schwedenlocher wieder offen Sachsische Zeitung dated 12 September 2013Literature editGebiet Konigstein Sachsische Schweiz Edition no 1 Akademie Verlag Berlin Berlin 1957 Werte der deutschen Heimat Vol 1 Oskar Lehmann Die Bastei in der sachsischen Schweiz Festschrift zur hundertjahrigen Jubelfeier ihres Eintritts in die Geschichte am 29 Mai 1897 Kohler Dresden 1897 Digitalisat External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Schwedenlocher bei Rathen 50 58 10 N 14 4 25 E 50 96944 N 14 07361 E 50 96944 14 07361 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Schwedenlocher amp oldid 1208643798, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
