Walk through Stolpen
- 0:35 h
- 2.01 km
- 43 m
- 43 m
- 300 m
- 340 m
- 40 m
- Start: Parking lot in Stolpen
- Destination: Parking lot in Stolpen
Those who look closely will immediately discover it: Stolpen's romantic side. The painters and graphic artists of the early 19th century also could not resist it and captured the former Stolpen Castle - already a half-ruin at that time - in their graphics and pictures. Among them was Caspar David Friedrich. He and his friend, Carl Gustav Carus, also visited Stolpen and sketched the enchanted ruins. The route of this tour leads you partly to the drawing location of Caspar David Friedrich's sketch from August 27, 1820, in the small castle park, and of course also to Stolpen Castle. It is a small, cozy walk - entirely in the spirit of the Romantics.
Good to know
Pavements
Best to visit
Directions
From afar, visitors approaching Stolpen are greeted by the unmistakable silhouette of the castle town. The start of this leisurely walk is the parking lot of Stolpen Castle between Birkenweg and Schützenhofstraße (stop Ärztehaus).
With Stolpen Castle in sight, the route initially leads up Bischofswerdaer Straße to Stolpen Market. When crossing the market square, one already sees the spire of the town church, which can be reached via Kirchgasse by a short route. Behind the town church on Promenadenweg, the basalt columns typical for the castle town immediately catch the eye.
Stolpen basalt is a geological natural monument of outstanding importance. It also shapes the external appearance of the castle and many buildings in the town, where it was used as a building stone. A defensive structure built entirely of basalt stone like Stolpen is a structural rarity. The local columnar basalt is one of the best-known volcanic rock formations in the Saxon-Bohemian region.
From here the path continues in the footsteps of Caspar David Friedrich, always along the park promenade, a tranquil path through the castle park below the castle complex. On one of the cozy park benches, visitors find rest for many romantic thoughts and a little relaxation. In the castle tower, one can also see to the left the Cosel Tower, which served Caspar David Friedrich as the motif for his drawing from August 27, 1820.
At the end of the park promenade, the crowning conclusion of this walk is naturally also the visit to Stolpen Castle. Above the Schlosshotel Stolpen is the entrance to the castle complex.
The starting point can then be reached again via Schlossstraße and Bischofswerdaer Straße.
Tour information
Cultural Interesting
Loop Road
Directions & Parking facilities
RB 71 (Pirna - Neustadt in Sachsen) Stop: Stolpen | Train station
From the Stolpen stop to the starting point of the route (large public parking lot below the castle) it takes about 30 minutes on foot.
Bus 234, Bus 261 Stop: Stolpen | Schützenhausstraße or Ärztehaus
Additional information
"The towers too long," Friedrich noted on August 27, 1820, on his sketch of the Cosel Tower. Next to the tower, a gaping wound. Here he drew the part of the complex that had been destroyed only a few years earlier by Napoleon and his troops. One can clearly see the gap in the wall and the rubble that had been blasted out. Friedrich made it his task at the time to document the traces of the Napoleonic destruction and drew them wherever he could. Only a week later, his friend Carus stood at the same spot and also drew the Cosel Tower and the blasted vaults of the former Stolpen fortress.
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