Dresden and Saxon Switzerland

Just about 1.5 hours from the Czech capital is the German city of Dresden – a beautiful city with a difficult history. Once the capital of the kingdom of Saxony, Dresden was one of the most powerful and wealthy cities in Europe. The Saxon kings spent a lot of money on the development and decoration of the city.

During the tour of Dresden, you will see all the main attractions of this majestic city. Many of them were destroyed during the bombing during the Second World War, but, fortunately, were later meticulously restored.

Dresden is an art city. On the streets you can find musicians and artists everywhere. The Dresden Opera House is famous throughout Europe. In addition, it is in the Dresden Picture Gallery of the Old Masters that one of the greatest collections of paintings of our time is kept, which the Saxon kings began to collect. The pearls of the collection are the “Sistine Madonna” by the incomparable Raphael, “Chocolate Girl” by Lyotard, as well as several paintings by Titian. You can visit the art gallery and admire the masterpieces of world art in your free time after a sightseeing tour of the city.

Saxon Switzerland is a German national park with a unique landscape of sandstone mountains, located near Dresden in Saxony. This fabulous region got its name because it is very reminiscent of Switzerland.

The national park, founded in 1956, has an impressive area for Europe - 93 square kilometers. For a one-day trip to see the news of the park, of course, will not succeed. At your choice, we offer two pearls of Saxon Switzerland, which can be visited as part of this tour - this is the Bastay Bridge or the Königstein fortress.

Bastay Rock Massif is one of the most famous objects of Saxon Switzerland. The citadel, formed by nature itself, in the 13th century became part of the defensive ring of the rock castle of Neuraten, which unfortunately has not survived to this day.

Since the Middle Ages Bastay fortress with neighboring rocks connected the lift bridge. When tourists began to come to this region, a wooden structure was built. More and more people gathered. The wooden bridge was soon recognized as unsafe and replaced with a capital stone structure of seven arc-shaped spans, standing on powerful supports. It happened in 1851, the length of the Bastay Bridge is 75 meters, the height above the Elbe River is 165 m. This bridge is considered a symbol of Saxon Switzerland. It is included in the register of national monuments and is protected by the state.

Königstein Fortress (translated as “King’s Stone”) was mentioned in 1233. She was always impregnable, well-armed, standing on the flat mountain of the same name. The only entrance to the territory consists of an extensive system of portals, bridges and tunnels. Behind it is a whole settlement of several dozen buildings. This fortress is known for its well depth of 152.5 meters, which served as an autonomous water supply. By the way, this well is the second deepest in Europe. There is also a museum dedicated to German and Saxon military history.

Excursion to Dresden and Saxon Switzerland is held all year round.