Wartturm (crag)

On 22 November 2000 the Wartturm was the scene of one of the most spectacular rockfalls for decades in Saxon Switzerland.

About a third of the rock broke off and some 450 m³ of sandstone with an estimated weight of 800 tonnes crashed over 60 to 75 m into the valley.

[2] The cause was suspected to be progressive weathering of a fissure running through the rock.

Despite the loss of large sections of rock the Wartturm continues to be a popular climbing peak in the Saxon Switzerland Climbing Region.

As a result of the rockfall at the Wartturm, the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology of the Free State of Saxony has begun test drilling to investigate more closely the causes of rockfalls and the long term progress of weathering of sandstone in Saxon Switzerland.

The Wartturm in April 2001
The Wartturm in April 2001
The Elbe and the Wartturm seen from the Bastei.