The Schönfeld Upland (german: Schönfelder Hochland) is a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. It is named after Schönfeld, the district of Dresden in the middle of the plateau. Up to 1950, when

Pillnitz Pillnitz is a quarter in the east of Dresden, Germany. It can be reached by bus, ship, walking along the river or by bicycle. Pillnitz is most famous for its Baroque palace and park, the Pillnitz Castle. Pillnitz Palace consists of the Riversid ...

was incorporated into Dresden, the upland was known as the Pillnitzer Elbe Plateau.

Location

The Schönfeld Upland is in the east of 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 ...

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of Dresden. It extends over an area of approximately 45 square kilometres to the edges of neighbouring Dürröhsdorf-Dittersbach in the

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

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 ...

. Places in the Schönfeld Upland include Borsberg, Cunnersdorf, Eichbusch,

Eschdorf Eschdorf () is a small town in the commune of Esch-sur-Sûre, in north-western Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=n ...

, Gönnsdorf, Helfenberg, Krieschendorf, Malschendorf, Pappritz, Reitzendorf, Rockau, Rosinendörfchen, Rossendorf, Schönfeld, Schullwitz, Weißig and Zaschendorf. The Dresden districts of Rochwitz, Oberwachwitz (where the

Dresden TV Tower The Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz is a TV tower in Dresden, Germany. It is situated on the ''Wachwitzer Elbhöhen'' and serves as a transmitting tower for television and radio broadcasts. Due to its visibility over large distances and its unusual f ...

is located) and Bühlau are also part of the landscape of the Schönfelder Upland. The Schönfeld Upland is part of the West

Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands''Upper Lusatia''
at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 20 ...

, making it part of the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

of the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consis ...

. It is over 250 metres above sea level on the Lusatian Plateau. The highest points in the Schönfeld Upland are the Triebenberg, the highest mountain in Dresden, and the Borsberg in the south of the upland, at 383 and 361 metres above sea level, respectively, followed by the Napoleonstein ("Napoleon Rock") between Weißig and Rossendorf. In the south and southwest the upland is bordered by the Dresden Elbe valley, running along the Lusatian fault, where the elevation steeply falls 200 metres to the

Dresden Elbe valley The Dresden Elbe Valley is a cultural landscape and former World Heritage Site stretching along the Elbe river in Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, Germany. The valley, extending for some and passing through the Dresden Basin, is one of two m ...

. In the Northwest near Weißig, the Schönfeld Upland transitions into the

Dresden Heath The Dresden Heath (german: Dresdner Heide) is a large forest in the city of Dresden, Germany. The heath is the most important recreation area in the city and is also actively forested. Approximately 6,133 hectares of the Dresden Heath are design ...

. The northeast border is marked by the flat, grassy

hollow Hollow may refer to: Natural phenomena *Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse * Hollow (landform), a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley *Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals Places * Sleepy ...

on the upper reaches of the Prießnitz. The upland's northeastern neighbour is the Harthe, the forested area including the Dresden-Rossendorf Research Centre. The transitions to the east and southeast are fluid—here the ground level leisurely drops towards the Wesenitz.

Landscape

Typical of the upland are gently rolling to hilly areas, featuring a fragmented and variable structure with long

ridges A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

, low crests and shallow

valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

. In the southwestern periphery, deep, narrow valleys cut into the plateau, where steep streams flow to the Elbe. These valleys are, from northwest to southeast the ''Wachwitzgrund'' near Wachwitz, the Helfenberger Grund and ''Preßgrund'' near Niederpoyritz, the

Keppgrund The Keppgrund is a wooded side valley of the River Elbe between Loschwitz and Pillnitz, near Dresden in Saxony, Germany. It is part of the conservation area ''Elbhänge Dresden – Pirna''. The Keppbach, a brook rising in the Schönfeld Upland an ...

near Hosterwitz, the ''Vogelgrund'' and the ''Friedrichsgrund'' near

and the ''Tiefe Grund'' between Oberpoyritz and Graupa. The most important water course draining the upland to the east is the Schullwitzbach. The broad

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

s and

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...

are punctuated by

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

but

forested A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

areas are absent. Despite belonging to the city of Dresden, the Schönfeld Upland is still dominated by

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. There are approximately 2600

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

of arable land in the upland. In the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, various LPGs farmed the area. Today, it is mostly farmed by the ''Agrarproduktionsgesellschaft ('Agricultural Production Company') Schönfelder Hochland''. Continuing the

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

tradition is, among others, the smallholding museum Reizendorf.

Protection

Together with the Dresden Elbe valley, parts of the Schönfeld Upland have formed a contiguous

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

since 4 July 1974.dresden.de
(pdf)

Trivia

The local transport company '' Hochlandexpress'', located in Weißig, and the ''Hochlandverlag'' (publishing house) in Pappritz are both named after the Schönfeld Upland. The former Dürrörsdorf-Weißig railway line was also known as the Upland Railway and, today, has been converted into a popular

bike path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...

. The Hochlandfest ("Upland Festival") takes place every year and, every month the ''Hochland-Kurier'' ("Upland Courier") is published.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonfeld Upland Dresden Geography of Dresden Landforms of Saxony Plateaus of Germany