The history of Königstein castle

Königstein castle is one of the largest mountain fortresses in Europe and is located in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Saxon Switzerland above the village of Königstein. It is perched on a 9.5 hectare plateau, 240 metres above the Elbe river. People have lived here since the Bronze Age, 3100 years ago. The outer wall is 1,800 metres long and from the base it is up to 42 metres high using the sandstone cliffs as additional support. At the centre of the complex, there is a 152.5 meter well, the second deepest castle well in Europe.
The fortress exists thanks to its environment. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains were created due to the uplift of ocean floors in historic times which then due to weathering created the rock formations that we can see in the region today. It is the debris of a landscape which in millions of years time will no longer exist. Part of that debris are the plateaux and the Königstein plateau is one of them. An ideal defensive position located above an important trade route and close to a border that has existed since the castle was first created.
There are a number of ways of getting here. One can take the Dresden S Bahn, get off at Königstein and walk. Alternatively there is a car park below the castle, one can walk from there or take the shuttle bus. If one comes by coach, there is a large coach stop at the base of the castle, one can pick up a ticket there and enter the castle either by panoramic lift or follow the trail up as I shall show in this film.
What I shall do in this video is to tell you a little bit about the history of the castle at the same time as showing you what can be seen inside. I have made other films relating to this fortress and Saxon Switzerland as a whole which may also be of interest.
I came here as part of my tour of Saxon Switzerland. My interest was generated by seeing some of the paintings of the region done in the eighteenth and nineteenth century when this was a popular tourist destination for the wealthy. As far as the region is concerned, I think it has the best walking trails that I have seen, the scenery is spectacular yet accessible by bike. I travelled by motorhome but there are all sorts of other accommodation providers and public transport is excellent.
Music : Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns
Modern arrangement by Kevin MacLeod, published under Creative Commons licence.
Royalty free music at www.incompetech.com

[@ianmason8713]

Brilliant, I want to go there now. I shamefully have to admit my ignorance to the existence of this place, until I saw this. Thank you.

[@windsurfer49]

"It makes "Bambourgh Castle "look very insecure"probably snow covered at the moment, even harder to climb" nice vid,

[@annic7995]

THANK YOU FOR SHARING! WHAT RELAXING SITE AND EDUKATIONAL, TOO. I SHALL SLEEP WELL TONIGHT! JUST GOT OFF WORK. 😊😇 STAY SAFE! 😺

[@VanlifewithAlan]

I saw your message at five in the morning here in Stuttgart!

[@losaikosavetheearth4215]

My father was held in this Hell Hole in WW2. He escaped with another prisoner close to the end of the war. Escape or bribe they got out and brought back help. 782 men were liberated.

[@VanlifewithAlan]

I wanted to do a video on the POW camp, unfortunately my raw video was lost when the disk went down.

[@losaikosavetheearth4215]

@@VanlifewithAlan Can my family help with authentic WW2 info?

[@pissedagainlikeiwas]

looks fantastic

[@OrbisTertiusChannel]

Once a year you can climb it.