Sweden holes

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Sweden holes
Sweden holes
Schwedenlöcher, historical view around 1900

The Schwedenlöcher is a gorge-like side gorge of the Amselgrund near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland .

history

The deeply cut gorge was created by the erosion of the softer sandstone . In its course it follows the main fissure direction in the Elbe sandstone.

Originally it was an undeveloped and difficult to access gorge, which was called Blanker Grund . When the northern village of Rathewalde was destroyed by Swedish soldiers in August 1639 during the Thirty Years' War , the farmers in the area fled into the wild gorge and brought themselves and their belongings to safety there. The gorge also served as a place of refuge in later times of war, for example in the Great Northern War in 1706 , in the Wars of Liberation in 1813 and in the last days of World War II in 1945 .

In the 1780s, the first ways for logging were laid in the Schwedenlöchern. Several dates carved into the sandstone remind of this (1782, 1784, 1787).

The actual tourist development of the gorge took place relatively late. On the initiative of the Mountain Association for Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland , the Schwedenlöcher was provided with a climbing system in 1886 . For the installation of the stairs and bridges, the gorge had to be artificially widened in parts. The new hiking trail, which connected the famous rock massif of the Bastei with the Amselgrund, was inaugurated on May 1, 1886 on the occasion of the 6th German Geographers' Day. In 1967/68 the path was extensively repaired. 3.5 tons of iron and 600 concrete slabs were used. Back then, the path had 777 steps and more than 20 concrete bridges.

The hiking trail through the Schwedenlöcher is one of the most popular hiking trails in Saxon Switzerland. Estimates by the Saxon Switzerland National Park Administration assume that in the main season up to 2000 people use the route every day.

Rockfalls

The path through the narrow gorge has always been particularly endangered by rockfalls from the eroding sandstone and therefore had to be closed several times.

In May 2012, a tree root broke off a piece of rock about ten cubic meters in size. Seven hikers were injured by the falling boulders. The path had to be closed for several days to investigate and clear the damage. In February 2013 there was another closure due to the risk of rockslides. To avert danger, the overhanging rock, at risk of being demolished, was blasted in August 2013. The hiking trail had to be relocated at the blasting site and was opened again in September 2013.

Climbing rock

The Schwedenlöcher is part of the Saxon Switzerland climbing area . The Schwedenturm climbing rock is located directly on the hiking trail. It was first climbed in 1905 by Rudolf Fehrmann and his brother Arymund.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Königstein area, Saxon Switzerland (= values ​​of the German homeland . Volume 1). 1st edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1957., p. 40
  2. ^ Danger of rock falls in the Schwedenlöchern , Sächsische Zeitung (Pirna edition) of February 5, 2013
  3. ^ Opened Sweden holes , Sächsische Zeitung (Pirna edition) from August 31, 2013
  4. ↑ Schwedenlöcher open again , Sächsische Zeitung of September 12, 2013

literature

  • Königstein area, Saxon Switzerland (= values ​​of the German homeland . Volume 1). 1st edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1957.
  • Oskar Lehmann: The bastion in Saxon Switzerland. Festschrift for the centenary of their entry into history on May 29, 1897. Köhler, Dresden 1897 ( digitized version )

Web links

Commons : Schwedenlöcher bei Rathen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 10 ″  N , 14 ° 4 ′ 25 ″  E