The Falkenschlucht and other surprises around Gohrisch

Soon after, we meet the Malerweg, which we follow turning left. At the foot of Gohrisch we can choose between two different ascents. The ascent through the Falkenschlucht goes through a narrow rock gorge, requiring some climbing skill. The second option stays on the Malerweg. Once at the top, we first want to visit the Weather Vane Viewpoint. For this, a small path goes left on the rocky plateau, through rocks and up a short section secured with an iron chain.

We retrace the same way and continue over Gohrisch to reach the Pavilion Viewpoint. After descending east to the saddle between Gohrisch and Papststein, we come upon the Soapstone Tunnel, connected to the basalt quarry. At the immediate boundary area of sandstone and basalt is a layer of brown iron and a layer of decomposed basalt, referred to as "soapstone." The tunnel's age is not precisely known. Older records already call the mine "Help of God" at Gohrisch in 1583. The chronicler Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger notes that the soapstone tunnel was created around 1750 in search of coal. It remains unclear whether the tunnel was originally intended for extracting soapstone, or if it actually aimed to exploit coal deposits (formed by driftwood in the sandstone). Since the 1990s, the tunnel has served as a winter habitat for bats.

We cross the road at the Galgenschänke. Immediately after the parking lot, we turn sharply left onto the hiking trail Alte Jäke. It goes steeply down into the valley; we cross Schandauer Straße again at the village entrance of spa town Gohrisch, pass the forest cemetery, and continue straight to the sports field. Then left on Lindenweg to Hörnelweg. We now follow the yellow dot marking toward Hörnelteich (glacial erratic). From there, we continue around the Folgenfelder, past the caravan site, back to the starting point of the hike in Gohrisch.

The name of the village "Gohrisch" derives from the old Slavic word gora, which means "mountain." The first documented mention was in 1437 as Gorusch and a year later as Gorisch. It remained a very small village for centuries due to limited possibilities for fields on the plateaus. Two hundred years ago, about 100 people lived in 20 farmhouses. Only with the development of tourism did the place flourish and soon was entitled a mountain health resort. By 1910, about 700 people lived in Gohrisch. Since 1936, it has officially held the title "spa town."

More information about the Saxon Switzerland Soil Educational Trail

Climbing Gohrisch through the Falkenschlucht requires some climbing skill and you should not be claustrophobic!