The Quirl is a low table hill, 349 metres high, in

Saxon Switzerland Saxon Switzerland (german: Sächsische Schweiz) is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sands ...

, west of the

River 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 ...

Location and area

The Quirl rises about two kilometres south of Königstein in the so-called Land of Stones (''Gebiet der Steine''), part of Saxon Switzerland in which table hills (''Tafelberge'' or ''Steine'') are characteristic. In the immediate neighbourhood are the hills of

Pfaffenstein The Pfaffenstein, formerly called the ''Jungfernstein'', is a table hill,''"Der Pfaffenst ...

and Königstein. On the northern side of the Quirl is a large

bedding Bedding, also known as bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environm ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

, the ''Diebskeller'' ("Thieves' Cellar").

History

Until around 1800 there were fields on the Quirl that belonged to the hereditary enfeoffed estate of Pfaffendorf. Later the Quirl was placed out of bounds to the public due to its proximity to

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 ...

and the fields were abandoned. During the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866 the old footpath to the summit plateau was blown up so that Prussian troops there could not emplace their guns there.

Geology

The Quirl consists of sandstones of stage c, which are classified in the middle

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...

age of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

in the geological time scale. In more recent publications these sandstones are also called Postelwitz Strata (''Postelwitzer Schichten''). The summit plateau corresponds to intermediate stratum γ3. The bedding caves on the north side of the Quirl are in the lightly weathered intermediate stratum γ2.

Ascents

The best base for a visit to the Quirl is the town of Königstein. There a hiking trail, marked with a red dot runs around the Quirl an on to the neighbouring

Pfaffenstein The Pfaffenstein, formerly called the ''Jungfernstein'', is a table hill,''"Der Pfaffenst ...

. An unmarked, but signposted branch, the ''Kanonenweg'' enables the summit plateau to be reached easily. Other unmarked ascents are located near the ''Diebskeller'' on the north side.

Sources

* * Roland H. Winkelhöfer: ''Der Quirl ohne Zweiffel. Eine Heimatkunde der 20 linkselbischen Tafelberge der Sächsischen Schweiz.'' Verlag DER HÖHLENFORSCHER, Dresden, . * Roland H. Winkelhöfer: ''Durch Höhlen der Sächsischen Schweiz.'' Höhlenführer und Katasterdokumentation. (1998 / 2010) Verlag DER HÖHLENFORSCHER, Dresden, {{ISBN, 3-00-002609-6 Mountains of Saxon Switzerland Königstein, Saxony