Barbarine

On 19 September 1905 the Dresden climber, Rudolf Fehrmann, and the American, Oliver Perry-Smith, succeeded in becoming the first to conquer the Barbarine.

Lightning strikes on the summit and progressive erosion rendered the upper part of the pinnacle increasingly unstable, so that in 1946 mountaineers poured concrete into the hollow.

Due to the continued erosion, in 1964 further work was carried out; the summit block being underpinned and supported with steel cables.

The geological natural monument is only climbed occasionally today – mainly by geologists and scientists who hope to avert further damage.

[4] In a variation of this legend the mother is an evil witch and the girl meets her beloved, a hunter, at the Pfaffenstein.

The Barbarine on the Pfaffenstein
Postcard portraying the first ascent (with incorrect date: 8 April 1906)