The Frienstein, also called the Vorderes Raubschloss, is a rock formation, about 130 metres high, in Saxon Switzerland. It lies on the northern slopes of the Großer Winterberg in the

Affensteine The Affensteine are a long chain of deeply fissured rocks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains that are located east of Bad Schandau in the German region of Saxon Switzerland. They are bounded to the north by the Kirnitzsch valley, to the south b ...

rocks. On the rock there was once a watchtower of the Barony of Wildenstein. Today the Frienstein is a popular

climbing peak A climbing peak (german: Klettergipfel) may refer to a mountain or hill peak or a rock formation that has to be ascended by climbing. The term is common in Germany where it is specifically used of free-standing rock formations in the climbing region ...

History

Around 1410 a watchtower was erected on the Frienstein as a signal station by the Barony of Wildenstein that was owned by the family of

Berka of Dubá Berka of Dubá ( cs, Berka z Dubé) was a cadet branch of a Bohemian noble family of Lords of Dubá established by Hynek Berka of Dubá (1249–1306). It held estates in what is today the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany throughout the Middl ...

. By this means it was possible for Frienstein to make contact with the surrounding watchtowers on the Winterstein, the Neuer Wildenstein and the ''Alter Wildenstein''. In 1451 the Frienstein together with the rest of the barony went to the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

and thus to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

. In the period that followed,

robber knight A robber baron or robber knight (german: Raubritter) was an unscrupulous feudal landowner who, protected by his fief's legal status, imposed high taxes and tolls out of keeping with the norm without authorization by some higher authority. Some re ...

s lodged on the Frienstein, even in 1479 one of their workers conceded that ''"item near Frienstein is a trap..., where those who are caught are tormented"'' (''item beym Freynstein ist eyn loch ..., do man die gefangen eynfurt zu peynigen''). On the first cartographic record in Saxony, a map dating to 1592 by Matthias Oeder, the rock is marked as ''Freystein''.

On the present-day climbing route called the ''Alter Weg'' ("Old Way") one can still see the rebates and steps cut out of the rock that were once used to climb it. Even on the summit area there are traces of the watchtower in the shape of rebates for anchoring a wooden observation post. On the eastern side at the foot of the rock is the Ida Grotto (''Idagrotte''), a large crevice and bedding cave, that is nowadays a popular destination. It can only be reached over a narrow band of rock. In the grotto there are still traces of its medieval use as a living area. Because of its size and the fact that it is easy to get to, the Ida Grotto is a popular goal for ''Boofer''s, a Saxon term for hikers who sleep out in the open. However, in recent years, there have been repeated cases of hikers who have fallen and been seriously injured or killed as a result of being intoxicated with alcohol.''Gipfelbuch''.
Accessed on 24 Apr 2011.

Climbing peak

The Frienstein is a popular climbing peak in the Saxon Switzerland Climbing Region, but its summit is not accessible to hikers and walkers. The first recreational ascent of the peak took place in 1873, although it had been conquered before with the help of artificial aids. The route known today as the ''Alter Weg'' is classified as

climbing grade In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a grade to a climbing route or boulder problem, intended to describe concisely the difficulty and danger of climbing it. Different types of climbing (such as spo ...

III. There are also more difficult routes of up to grade XIb. Climbing history was written on the ''Königshangel'' when grade IX was reached for the first time in Saxon Switzerland. In 1965 it was successful climbed for the first time by Fritz Eske, after several unsuccessful attempts by other noteworthy climbers.

References

Sources

*Peter Rölke (publ.): ''Wander- & Naturführer Sächsische Schweiz'', Vol. 1, Verlag Rölke, Dresden 1999,

External links

The Frienstein at the rock information pages of the German Alpine Club
{{in lang, de Rock formations of Saxon Switzerland Climbing areas of Germany Mountains of Saxon Switzerland