Schrammsteine

About this place

The Schrammsteine are a long, jagged chain of rocks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, east of the town of Bad Schandau in Saxon Switzerland, eastern Germany, about 3 km east of Bad Schandau and 36 km southeast of Dresden in a straight line. The Kirnitzsch valley bounds them to the north and the Elbe valley to the south. The chain begins in the west at the Vorderer Torstein and runs to the viewpoint at 417 metres, cut by three huge vertical openings called the Schrammtore, the «Schramm gates». Its main peaks are the Falkenstein and the Hoher Torstein at 425 metres. Weathered yellow and grey sandstone walls rise above dense green forest, with pillars and rock towers stacked in strange shapes. From the viewpoint a wide view opens over the winding Elbe valley and the surrounding rock plateaus, and the woods turn orange in autumn. Visitors walk from Bad Schandau on paths that climb through the forest, then up ladders and iron walkways between the rocks to the viewpoint, and experienced hikers take the ridge trail. Rock climbers come here often; the route needs some fitness and good shoes.