Trip to Hercules Columns in the Sachsen Switzerland

A trip to the rock walls on the Czech-German border

Starting point

Village Ostrov (part of Tisá), paid parking 100 CZK/day.
 

Description of the hike

Behind the tourist hut near the Tisza Walls I turn down a narrow road to nearby Ostrov. You can leave your car in the paid parking lot (100 CZK/day) on the edge of the village. I continue on my own on the asphalt towards the border with Germany. Here I cross a stream and climb straight up to a sandstone rock with the characteristic name Grenzwegwächter (Guardian of the border road). Then continue along the yellow line to the Grenzplatte, where you can see back to the island and the opposite sandstone towers.

From the forest path leading along the edge of the rocks, there are paths leading to viewpoints. The names of the rocks are poetic - Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Falcon Tower, Eagle's Head, Lovers. After a while the yellow trail drops into Bielatal, the valley of the Bela River, crosses the forest path and climbs again to the rocks on the other side. An interesting feature is the small cave Schwedenhöhle, where in the 17th and 18th centuries, during riots, locals hid valuable things and cattle from soldiers. Opposite is Eisloch, a deeper snow hole where the snow stayed until late spring. Along the river you reach the village of Ottomühle, where the blue trail connects. Follow it up again to the Kanzelsteinaussicht lookout point. A little further on, you can see the Herkulessäulen (Hercules Columns) - slender sandstone towers between which you can walk to the lookout or try to climb them, as the local climbers are doing. Some of the columns have narrow necks, reminiscent of the statues on Easter Island, while another rock looks like a giant bolt (Schraubenkopf).

The road continues on to Rosenthal, where there are several romantic buildings on the rocks, such as the Kaiser-Wilhelm Feste square gazebo, which I look at from the Johanniswacht lookout opposite. You can get here again by following the yellow mouse holes between the rocks and climbing the ladders. I return to Ottomühle and from there I follow the blue forest path back to the Czech border. In the forest there are boggy peat bogs with small ponds (Moorteich, or already on our side Rájecká peat bogs).

Between Rájec and Ptačí stěny I will descend to the village of Rájec. Right on the state border there is an old lime tree and a chapel under it. There used to be the village of Rájec - Raiza and the inn Zur Linde (At the Lime Tree) by the lime tree. In the cottages lived foresters and workers from the button factory in Tisá, mostly of German nationality. After 1945 the inhabitants were displaced and the houses were demolished. Today there are a few cottages, probably only recreational ones. Behind the Lesní zátiší guesthouse (former Gasthaus Waldesruhe) I turn onto the Iron Road, which used to transport iron products and other goods between Bohemia and Saxony. The road is still paved with sandstone stones in several places. At the crossroads above Ostrov, a restored stone cross a short distance from the road is still a delight.
 

Difficulty

This is a hike in a tourist area, along marked trails. On the route there is a possibility of refreshment in the Czech Ostrov, or in the German villages of Ottomühle and Rosenthal.
 

Water availability

Water with you, refreshments along the way in restaurants and snack bars.
 

Sleeping options

Tourist region of Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland, plenty of accommodation options. In season camping directly in Ostrov.
 

Mountain peaks

The route leads along the rocks in the Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland. From their peaks there are views of the surrounding countryside.
 

Danger

There are no dangerous spots on the route, walk through the rock town, be careful at the viewpoints, there are no railings.
 

Food

Refreshments available on the way in Ostrov, Ottomühle or Rosenthal.