The Sächsische Schweiz () is a former district (''Kreis'') in the south of

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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Neighboring districts were (from west clockwise)

Weißeritzkreis The Weißeritzkreis is a former district (''Kreis'') in the south of Saxony, Germany. Neighboring districts were (from west clockwise) Freiberg, Meißen, the district-free city Dresden, Sächsische Schweiz, and to the south it bordered the Czech ...

, the district-free city

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 ...

and the districts

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian, ) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotth ...

and

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

. To the south it borders the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

History

The district was created in 1994 when the two districts Sebnitz and Pirna were merged. In August 2008, as a part of the district reform in Saxony, the districts of Sächsische Schweiz and Weißeritzkreis were merged into the new district

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains (, ) is a district ('' Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Eastern Ore Mountains. History The district was established by merging the former districts ...

Geography

The district is named after the landscape – the ''

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 ...

'' – as it is the most mountainous region of Saxony. To the west are the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

, and to the east the

Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 2011. or Lusatian Hills 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 ...

flows through 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 ...

and separates the two mountain ranges. The highest elevation of the district is the high ''Oelsener Höhe'' in the southwest of the district, the lowest elevation is the valley of the Elbe at the boundary to Dresden which is above sea level.

History

Geography

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

See also

External links