Rathen is a village in the

Elbe Sandstone Mountains The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands (, ; , ), are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-q ...

, in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Germany, about southeast of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. The village occupies both banks of the river

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

and, as of 2020, has 339 inhabitants. Rathen is a popular tourist destination, the main sights are the

Bastei The Bastei is a rock formation rising above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ago. They are situa ...

cliffs, the Amselsee (a lake), and the outdoor theater ''"Felsenbühne Rathen"''.

History

Rathen was founded in the 13th century around 1261 as place for a castle fortress. During World War II, a subcamp of

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

was located here.

Tourism

The state-recognised climatic spa of Rathen is not only the base for tours in the western part of Saxon Switzerland, but also for the world-famous

rocks. Other popular destinations in the local Amselgrund valley are the lake of Amselsee and the Rathen Open Air Stage. There are a good 400 inhabitants on both sides of the

, linked by the historic Rathen Ferry, which is a

protected monument In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. In addition to the Old Mill of 1567, which was nearly demolished after the hundred year flood, there is a range of other timber-framed houses. Due to its proximity to the town of Wehlen the following wordplay saying is given to visitors: ''"Sie können Rathen wählen, ich würde Ihnen auch zu Wehlen raten."'' ("You can choose Rathen, I would also recommend Wehlen to you.")

Local places of interest

with the Schweizerhaus, Bastei bridge and Bastei lookout * Rathen Open Air Stage in the Wehlgrund *

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

park on the Kleine Bastei * Rauenstein * Amselgrund and Amsel Falls *

Saxon Switzerland National Park Saxon Switzerland National Park (), is a National Park, national park in the Germany, German Free State of Saxony, near the Saxon capital Dresden. It covers two areas of in the heart of the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, which is o ...

* Castles of Neurathen and Altrathen * Largest garden railway in the world at * Schwedenlöcher

Transport

The Rathen Ferry, a passenger

reaction ferry A reaction ferry is a cable ferry that uses the reaction of the current of a river against a fixed tether to propel the vessel across the water. Such ferries operate faster and more effectively in rivers with strong currents. Types and modes of ...

, connects Niederrathen, on the right bank of the Elbe river, to Oberrathen on the left bank. Kurort Rathen railway station, on the

Dresden S-Bahn The Dresden S-Bahn is a network of S-Bahn-type commuter train services in Dresden and the surrounding area. It is commissioned by Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) from DB Regio ''Verkehrsbetrieb Südostsachsen'' and currently consists of three serv ...

and the Dresden to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

railway, is adjacent to the Oberrathen ferry terminal. Rathen is also a stop for the Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt ships, including historic

paddle steamers A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

, operating between Dresden and the Czech border. Road access to Niederrathen is by means of a road from

Bad Schandau Bad Schandau (; , ) is a spa town in Germany, in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, at the mouth of the valley of the Kirnitzsch and in the ar ...

, whilst Oberrathen is linked by road to Struppen. There is no direct vehicular connection across the river between the two halves of the village, and the road journey between the two is some in length.

References

External links

Kurort Rathen official website
{{Authority control Populated places in Saxon Switzerland