Koenigstein Castle - Sightseeings & Informations

Königstein Fortress (Festung Königstein) is a hilltop fortress above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe not far away from Dresden. It is one of the largest hilltop fortifications in Europe and sits atop the table hill of the same name.

The 9.5 hectare rock plateau rises 240 metres above the Elbe and has over 50 buildings, some over 400 years old. The rampart run of the fortress is 1,800 metres long with walls up to 42 metres high and steep sandstone faces. In the centre of the site is a 152.5 metre deep well, which is the deepest in Saxony and second deepest well in Europe. The fortress, which for centuries was used as a state prison, is still intact and is now one of Saxony's foremost tourist attractions, with 700,000 visitors per year.

Castle on the Königstein was found by King Wenceslas I of Bohemia dating to the year 1233. Between 1589 and 1591/97 Prince-Elector Christian I of Saxony and his successor had the castle developed into the strongest fortification in Saxony. 

From 1722 to 1725, at the behest of August the Strong, coopers under Böttger built the enormous Königstein Wine Barrel (Königsteiner Weinfass), the greatest wine barrel in the world, in the cellar of the Magdalenenburg which had a capacity of 249,838 litres. Because of Böttger, Königstein Fortress is also the site where European porcelain started.

Königstein Fortress was regarded as unconquerable. That was the reason why the Saxon monarchs retreated to it from Wittenberg and later Dresden during times of crisis and also deposited the state treasure and many works of art from the famous Zwinger here.

The fortress was never conquered, it had too much of a chilling reputation after it had been expanded by Elector Christian I. Until 1922 the fortress was the best-known state prison in Saxony.