Schwedenlöcher

The gorge is a side branch of the Amselgrund Valley, located in the heart of Saxon Switzerland, the German part of the Elbe Mountains. It was formed as a result of the erosion of soft sandstone. A rather steep path leads through it, consisting of 777 steps, 20 bridges and 2 iron ladders. The 35-meter long Schwedenturm rock is located near the main route.

The gorge became a tourist attraction only in the second half of the 19th century. At that time, a path was marked out there, and stairs and bridges were built. For this, it had to be artificially enlarged. In the 1960s, the entire route was comprehensively renovated.

The name of the ravine refers to the period of the Thirty Years' War. In 1639, the Swedish army destroyed the nearby village of Rathewalde, and its inhabitants took refuge in a gorge, then wild and inaccessible. This place served the local peasants as a shelter also during the Third Northern War and the Second World War.