The Nonne (also ''Nonnenstein'') is a roughly 18-metre-high, isolated, standing sandstone rock and climbing peak in

Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (, ) is a hilly climbing area and national park in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It is located around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany, adjoining Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. Toge ...

in Germany. The rock is located southeast of

Rathen Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about southeast of Dresden. The village occupies both banks of the river Elbe and, as of 2020, has 339 inhabitants. Rathen is a popular tourist destination, the main sigh ...

, east of the rock chain of Rauenstein. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the rock was used in the 15th century as a

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

(''Burgwarte''), similar to that on the other side of the Elbe, Neurathen Castle. To that end the rock crevice below the summit plateau was widened into an artificial cave, used as a guardhouse. On the eastern side there are more traces of hammers. In addition, an artificial, earth embankment, about 35 m long, was built.

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

investigations ins 1963 brought to light pieces of ceramic, the

spindle whorl A spindle whorl is a weighted object fitted to a spindle to help maintain the spindle's speed of rotation while spinning yarn. History A spindle whorl may be a disk or spherical object. It is typically positioned on the bottom of the spindle. T ...

of a spindle, the site of a hearth and fragments of charcoal. In 1888 the Nonne was climbed for the first time for fun and without using ladders. Hitherto the rocks had always been climbed with the aid of ladders even after the watchtower had closed. The ''Alte Weg'' ("Old Way", grade II in the Saxon climbing grade system) has since become a popular climbing route especially for beginners. This has however resulted in

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

damage on the surrounding areas of forest and hillsides.

Sources

*Peter Rölke (ed.): ''Wander- & Naturführer Sächsische Schweiz.'' Vol. 2, Verlag Rölke, Dresden, 2000,

External links

Rock formations of Saxon Switzerland Climbing areas of Germany Rathen {{SaxonSwitzerland-geo-stub