The Pastýřská stěna, also ''Ovčí stěna'' (German: ''Schäferwand'', English: ''Shepherd's Wall''), is a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

rock massif on the shores of the

River Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...

in the borough of

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

(''Tetschen'') in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

History

According to language researchers, the name goes back to the German ''Schiefe Wand'' which means "inclined wall". The present Czech name is a translation of its German name, ''Schäferwand''. As early as the 19th century the ''Schäferwand'' (it was then Austrian) was a popular tourist destination due to its striking appearance. As a result it was decided to build a wooden refuge hut that, in 1905, was replaced by a solid wooden building in the shape of a romantic castle, and which still stands on the Schäferwand today. From the terrace of the restaurant there is a picturesque view of the Elbe valley and

Děčín Castle Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

opposite. After 1945 the

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

from

was moved to the plateau. Within the rock a lift was built from the Elbe road to the hill plateau, which is currently out of service (as at 2006). A tunnel on the Dresden–Děčín railway runs through the rock. For hikers a red signposted trail runs from the station at Děčín to the summit and continues to the Hoher Schneeberg.

Gallery

File:Decin-schaeferwand-001.jpg, Climbing routes on the ''Schäferwand'' File:DECIN.jpg, View from the Pastýřská stěna over Děčín to the right bank of the Elbe File:Trainstation-Decin.jpg, View of the station at Děčín from the ''Schäferwand'' File:Schaeferwand-Decin-001.jpg, Disused climbing routes on the ''Schäferwand'' and view of the castle {{DEFAULTSORT:Pastyrska stena Elbe Sandstone Mountains Rock formations of the Czech Republic Mountains and hills of Bohemian Switzerland