Königstein ( hsb, Kralowc) is a town on the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) 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 Repu ...

river in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Königstein lies in the

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains (german: Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge) is a district (''Districts of Germany, Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Eastern Ore Mountains. History Th ...

District and had a population of 2,089 in 2018. It includes land on both banks of the Elbe, but the centre and most of the town lies to the south of the river. The

Königstein Fortress Königstein Fortress (german: Festung Königstein), the "Saxony, Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein, Saxony, Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one ...

is situated above and to the south-west of the town.

Geography

Königstein is located in the

Elbe Sandstone Mountains The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands (german: Elbsandsteingebirge; cs, Děčinská vrchovina), are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian ...

. The town lies in between

Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as ...

and the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

border at the confluence of the

Biela Biela may refer to: * Biela, Bohemia, former name of a town in eastern Bohemia, now Luže *Biela, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central Poland) *Biela (river), a river in eastern Germany. *Wilhelm Freiherr von Biela, an Austrian military office ...

with the

. Königstein was damaged during the flooding of the Elbe in 2002.

History

The town of Königstein was first mentioned in 1379 as a settlement near the castle of Königstein. It was named after a

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, but eventually passed to the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

s of

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechts ...

. However, Königstein still retains the double-tailed lion of Bohemia in its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

for Allied officers,

Oflag IV-B An Oflag (from german: Offizierslager) was a type of prisoner of war camp for officers which the German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the 1899 Hague Convention, and in World War II in accordance with the r ...

, was located in the castle.

Transport

Königstein (Sächsische Schweiz) station Königstein (Sächsische Schweiz) is a station on the Dresden to Děčín line that serves the town of Königstein in the German state of Saxony. The station is served by the Dresden S-Bahn S1 service. Trains run to Pirna, Dresden and Meißen ...

, 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 servi ...

and the Dresden to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

railway, is located in the centre of the town. Königstein is also a stop for the

Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt The Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt of Dresden, Germany is the oldest and biggest paddle steamer fleet in the world. It consists of nine wheel steamers, two salon ships and two motor ships. It was formerly known as the White Fleet (''Weisse Flotte'' ...

ships, including historic

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

, operating on the Elbe between Dresden and the Czech border. Bus services in the Königstein area are operated by the

Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge The Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (RVSOE}) is a company that operates public transport services in the German state of Saxony. It is a member of the ''Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe'' (Upper Elbe Transport Association), a transport ...

, who also operate the Königstein to Halbestadt passenger ferry that crosses the river to the Halbestadt quarter on the north bank.

References

External links

Municipal website
Populated places in Saxon Switzerland Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe {{SächsischeSchweizOsterzgebirge-geo-stub