Here is a little history about it: Basteibrucke Bridge"The Bastei is a spectacular rock formation towering 194 metres above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of 305 metres above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago. They are situated near Rathen, not far from Pirna southeast of the city of Dresden and are the major landmark of the Saxon Switzerland National Park. They are also part of a climbing and hiking area that extends over the borders into the Czech Republic and Bohemian Switzerland.
"The Bastei has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years. In 1824, a wooden bridge was constructed to link several rocks for the visitors. This bridge was replaced in 1851 by the present Bastei Bridge made of sandstone."
This bridge is open year round but here is a huge tip... Don't go in the winter if it has snowed!! Yes it was a beautiful place to see in all white but they do not shovel or salt the walkways. The day we went everything was very icy! We saw a couple people fall including my Dad! The railings were only on one side of the walkway so if someone was coming in your direction one person had to move aside and wait for them to pass. It was not a safe place to be especially if you have children!! Another small issue we had was getting to this place! Unfortunately our directions took us right into construction. If anyone knows German construction it means they close the road and wish you luck! haha okay, not really but it's not always easy to find another way. We did not see the umleitung (detour) signs so we decided to find our own way. This was a bad idea... We drove and drove... and drove some more following the river thinking it was eventually going to get us to our location. Turns out what we thought was a bridge was a Ferry Boat crossing. We had already driven about 25 minutes and had to turn around! We decided that that day it was not meant to be. The next day we tried again. After looking at maps again and finally finding the umleitung sings we managed to find it! There are plenty of signs telling you where you need to go and plenty of parking lots. Once you get there be ready to be amazed! I had already seen pictures but seeing it in person was amazing! This is definitely something I recommend doing if you take a trip to Dresden! It's absolutely worth the extra 25 minute drive to get there!
