The Six-Valleys-area
Out and about in the Hohnsteiner hiking paradise
Imagine you are traveling to an area with a unique rocky landscape. Nature is unique and wildly romantic, sometimes rugged and wild, but always breathtakingly beautiful. Are you curious? Then visit the Hohnsteiner Sechs-Tälerland in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains!
The area is characterized by the rock formations of the so-called “Front Saxon Switzerland” in the core zone of the national park and the Lusatian thrust with the granite foothills of the Lusatian mountains. The constant change from mountain and valley, sandstone and granite creates the enchanting hiking area around Hohnstein.
Landscape and culture form a special connection here, as in the entire region. The settlement since the Middle Ages and the tourist development from the 19th century changed the Elbe Sandstone Mountains again and again, but its originality was preserved. Excursion destinations such as the Bastei with its imposing stone bridge or Hohnstein Castle high above the Polenz Valley are impressive testimonies to the creative interaction between man and nature.
Six valleys shape the area around Hohnstein. Very different and distinctive in their type and size, each one is an experience in itself. The valley landscapes are an Eldorado for hikers. All valleys offer special features that are just waiting to be explored. The Amselgrund leads to the world-famous Bastei, the steepest rock faces rise up in the Polenztal and the best views can be reached from the Tiefen Grund. The Kohlichtgraben is magically enchanted. The Schwarzbachtal impressively shows the contrast between sandstone and granite. The loveliest of all valleys might be the Sebnitz valley.
Six valleys around Hohnstein
The Amselgrund begins below the heights of Rathewalde and leads over the Rathewalder mill, past the Amselfall and later on the Amselsee to Rathen at the foot of the bastion. The valley is typical of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The hiking trail runs in the cool bottom of the rushing Grünbach between high sandstone cliffs in pristine nature.
The varied Polenztal runs almost 20 kilometers through the Hohnstein area. Coming from Polenz, the valley initially appears calm. Lush pastures with ancient trees green the flat valley floor. Near the Gasthaus Bockmühle are the world-famous Märzenbecherwiesen and from here the rugged, angular granite rock of the Lusatian thrust shows up. Further down the valley after the Russigmühle inn, the rock changes. From the Hockstein, one hundred meter high sandstone cliffs line the river to the end of the valley. Then the Polenz flows together with the Sebnitz as a salmon stream towards the Elbe.
Through the Tiefen Grund the Grundbach gushes from Hohnstein past the “Entenfarm” campsite and the Grundmühle to Porschdorf. A narrow connecting road, popularly known as “Sense”, runs parallel to it and leads to Bad Schandau. The deeper you get into the valley, the higher the sandstone cliffs rise. Those who just want to cross the valley can get from the “Brand” view down the “Brand” steps and back up through the village grounds to Waitzdorf. A fascinating panorama of the Elbe sandstone landscape can be seen from the Waitzdorfer view and even more so from the Waitzdorfer Höhe.
The Kohlichtgraben lies like in a fairytale forest. The small picturesque valley extends between Goßdorf and Kohlmühle. The sandstone cliffs rise quietly and almost deserted above the hiking trail next to the small stream. Nature is mysterious and romantic here. It is not without reason that a section of the painter’s path in Saxon Switzerland leads along there. Just a place to dream.
The beautiful Schwarzbachtal is not only a rarity due to its geologically interesting granite slopes. Centuries-old legends and stories entwine around the Goßdorf robbery castle. On a ledge, it towered 50 meters above the Schwarzbach and the valley meadows. There is also said to have been a medieval village there. An artificial ruin was later built on the remains of the wall of the old complex. If you walk carefully through the valley, you will also discover the relics of the narrow-gauge railway built around 1896. The former embankment as well as several tunnels and bridges are still preserved.
The Sebnitztal stretches from Amtshaimersdorf to the confluence of the Sebnitz with the Polenz to the Lachsbach near Porschdorf. The river meanders idyllically through the enchanting valley. Only the National Park Railway with its seven tunnels and countless bridges and a hiking trail lead through it. Only in the southern part in Kohlmühle with its old linoleum factory is the angular granite replaced by the striking sandstone cliffs.