Schwedenlöcher

When, during the Thirty Years' War, the village of Rathewalde to the north was destroyed by Swedish soldiers in August 1639, the peasants of the region fled into the wild gorge and carried their possessions to safety.

The new footpath, which linked the well known rock massif of the Bastei with the Amselgrund, was opened on 1 May 1886 on the occasion of the 6th German Geographers' Day.

The Saxon Switzerland National Park authorities estimate that up to 2,000 people per day walk the path during the peak season.

[2] The path through the narrow gorge is often threatened by rockfalls from the eroding sandstone and has had to be closed several times.

In May 2012 a tree root broke off a large piece of rock, roughly 10 cubic metres in volume.