Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about southeast of Dresden. The village occupies both banks of the river Elbe and, as of 2020, has 339 inhabitants. Rathen is a popular tourist destination, the main sights are the Bastei cliffs, the Amselsee (a lake), and the outdoor theater ''"Felsenbühne Rathen"''.

History

Rathen was founded in the 13th century around 1261 as place for a castle fortress. During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here.

Tourism

The state-recognised climatic spa of Rathen is not only the base for tours in the western part of Saxon Switzerland, but also for the world-famous Bastei rocks. Other popular destinations in the local

Amselgrund The Amselgrund ("Amsel Bottom") is the name given to the valley of the Grünbach stream in the heart of Saxon Switzerland in Eastern Germany. It runs from Niederrathen upstream to Rathewalde. The wild and romantic valley takes hikers through the ...

valley are the lake of Amselsee and the Rathen Open Air Stage. There are a good 400 inhabitants on both sides of the Elbe, linked by the historic Rathen Ferry, which is a

protected monument In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. In addition to the Old Mill of 1567, which was nearly demolished after the hundred year flood, there is a range of other timber-framed houses. Due to its proximity to the town of Wehlen the following wordplay saying is given to visitors: ''"Sie können Rathen wählen, ich würde Ihnen auch zu Wehlen raten."'' ("You can choose Rathen, I would also recommend Wehlen to you.")

Local places of interest

* Bastei with the Schweizerhaus, Bastei bridge and Bastei lookout * Rathen Open Air Stage in the Wehlgrund *

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

park on the Kleine Bastei * Rauenstein *

and Amsel Falls * Saxon Switzerland National Park * Castles of Neurathen and Altrathen * Largest garden railway in the world at Eisenbahnwelten im Kurort Rathen * Schwedenlöcher

Transport

The Rathen Ferry, a passenger reaction ferry, connects Niederrathen, on the right bank of the Elbe river, to Oberrathen on the left bank. Kurort Rathen railway station, on the Dresden S-Bahn and the Dresden to Prague railway, is adjacent to the Oberrathen ferry terminal. Rathen 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, operating between Dresden and the Czech border. Road access to Niederrathen is by my means of a road from Bad Schandau, whilst Oberrathen is linked by road to

Struppen Struppen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. References

Populated places in Saxon Switzerland {{SächsischeSchweizOsterzgebirge-geo-stub ...

. There is no direct vehicular connection across the river between the two halves of the village, and the road journey between the two is some in length.

References

External links

Kurort Rathen official website
{{Authority control Populated places in Saxon Switzerland