The Schwedenturm ("Sweden Tower") in East Germany is a 35-metre-high rock formation made of sandstone in the hills of Saxon Switzerland near the

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

of Rathen and the famous

Bastei The Bastei is a rock formation rising 194 metres above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of 305 metres above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ...

rocks. From the car park for the Bastei, a path runs towards Schwedenlöcher. The Schwedenturm is situated on the right just before the entrance to a narrow ravine. Because it lies in the Saxon Switzerland Climbing Region the free-standing pinnacle may be used for climbing. Currently there are 14 different routes up the rock. It was here that the first grade Xb route in the mountain range was successfully climbed, route 6 (''Versuch''), by Bernd Arnold. The Schwedenturm was first climbed in 1905 by

Rudolf Fehrmann Rudolf Fehrmann (22 June 1886 – 1947), a German, was a pioneer rock climber at Elbsandsteingebirge near Dresden. Climbing career He began climbing at the age of 17 and was soon at the leading edge of the fledgling sport. He and Oliver Perry-Sm ...

and his brother Arymund.

External links

Rock information by the German Alpine Club: Schwedenturm – Rathener Gebiet
Rock formations of Saxon Switzerland Climbing areas of Germany {{climbing-stub