The Friedrichsburg. Today this pavilion is a place for banquets and weddings.
The Fortress Königstein (Festung Königstein) was on our list of destinations we liked to visit during our recent trip in Germany. I have been there quite a few times during my younger years but Joan had seen it only from below or from a distance in the past. The fortress is located near Dresden, in the mountains of Saxon Switzerland, on the left bank of river Elbe. It would be too much here in the blog to write about its significance but you can learn more about one of Saxony’s best tourist attraction by using the link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Königstein_Fortress
It was a windy and chilly day and that kept probably some of the people away. The main tourist season will start anyway with the upcoming warmer weather. However, this was great for photography in those areas of the fortress that are usually filled with visitors. Here are a few pictures from that day.
The 9.5 hectare (23.5 acres) rock plateau rises 240 meters above the Elbe and has over 50 buildings, some over 400 years old.
Steep ramp through several gates at the entrance. The Königstein Fortress has never been conquered during its long history but served often as guard for the Saxon state reserves and secret archives during times of war.
Fantastic view across the rocks, valleys, and mountains of the Saxon Switzerland with the Elbe River below. Panorama from 5 photos, merged in Adobe Lightroom.
Since 1955, the fortress has been an open-air, military history museum of high touristic value.
The rampart run around the fortress is 1.8 km (1.12 miles) long, with walls up to 42 m high and steep sandstone faces. (source for all facts: Wikipedia, see link above)