The German state of Saxony lies on the eastern side of Germany, bordering Poland and the Czech Republic. In the south-east of Saxony, in and around the Elbe River valley, there is an area referred to as Saxon Switzerland. The gateway to Saxon Switzerland is Dresden and the area runs east of Dresden right up to the Czech Republic border.

Saxon Switzerland is home to the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. This mountain range has been dramatically sculpted by the forces of nature over millions of years, resulting in a vast region of gorges, bluffs, cliff walls and strangely shaped rock formations.

During art’s Romanticism era of the early 19th century, European painters were drawn to the natural beauty and drama of the Elbe valley and its rocky landscape. Among them were two prominent Swiss painters who, feeling that the area was reminiscent of their home country, conferred the name “Saxon Switzerland” on the region. Strangely, the name stuck.

Caspar David Friedrich and other European Romantic landscape painters of the 19th century painted extensively in Saxon Switzerland. The Malerweg (Painters’ Way, in English) is a 112 km walking trail that strings together some of the sites in Saxon Switzerland most favoured by those dreamy artists.

The Malerweg is described in more detail below.

Assistance and further information:

• For assistance in undertaking the Malerweg or any other walks in Saxon Switzerland, click the button below.

• For information on other walks in Germany, click the button below.

One of the best walks in Saxon Switzerland is the Malerweg. To learn more, click the button below.

Malerweg

A 112 kilometre trail through an area in eastern Germany referred to as Saxon Switzerland. The area is home to the Elbe Sandstone Mountains.