The Bastei is a 194 meter high rock formation that dominates the Elbe river near the Elbe mountains of Germany. Located at a height of 305 meters above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over a million years ago. They are located near Rathen, not far from Pirna, a southeast of the city of Dresden.
It is the most famous vantage point of the Saxon Switzerland national park. They are also part of a climbing and hiking area that extends beyond the German borders to Bohemian Switzerland, in the Czech Republic.
The Bastei is a tourist attraction since the nineteenth century: in 1824 a wooden bridge was built to join some of the rocks for tourists to visit. This bridge was then replaced in 1851 by the present Basteibrücke built in stone. The rock formation and the landscape have inspired many famous artists, including Caspar David Friedrich ("Felsenschlucht")
The spa town of Rathen is the main base for a visit to the Bastei; the city can be reached from Dresden by boat on the Elbe.
Bastei bridge
Address: 01824, Germania
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