The hiking tour on the E3 through Saxon Switzerland starts in Geising in the eastern Ore Mountains. Follow the Leitenweg in the direction of Lauenstein. After approx. 750 metres, we keep right and follow the Altenberger Weg. We reach the small town of Lauenstein with its Renaissance castle. The path leads downhill along Schloßstraße and crosses the Müglitz. Once on the other bank, we walk along the Kirchsteig and later on the crossroads to Liebenau and continue until we reach the Harteweg junction. We walk past the quarter milestone and continue under the Nasenbach bridge over the A17 motorway.Now it's a leisurely descent into the Oelsengrund. At the bottom, the path runs alongside the Gottleuba river until we reach the dam of the Gottleuba reservoir. Passing the right bank of the dam, we reach the entrance to the spa town of Bad Gottleuba via the Alter Oelsener Weg.The route of the E3 does not lead directly through the spa town but climbs uphill to the Augustusberg. From the vantage point, you have a beautiful open view of the Gottleuba dam and the mountain ranges of the Eastern Ore Mountains. You can spend the night in the mountain hotel of the same name.From Augustusberg, the route leads through woods and meadows to Markersbach. We keep left and walk along the Bahra stream to the "Zur Linde" restaurant. We turn right and walk - unfortunately always along the road - for approx. 2 kilometres to the straight junction into Rosenthaler Straße. This junction is located where the road makes a sharp left turn. From here, the route continues along a forest track in the direction of Bielagrund. On the way there, we can make two short detours to the Johanniswacht and Sachsenstein viewing rocks. However, you should be free from giddiness at Sachsenstein, as the ascent leads up a steep iron staircase. You will be rewarded with an impressive view of the bizarre rock needles of the Bielatal climbing area.In the Bielatal valley, the hiking trail runs along the valley road, past the Schweizermühle mill and the former blast furnace to the junction with Pirnaer Straße. At the next steep left-hand bend, we walk straight on through Bielatal and follow the forest road. A detour to the labyrinth is recommended, as the search for the right path can also be great fun for adults.We follow the forest road called Hirschstange until we reach the road between Königstein and Leupoldishain. On the way, there are unobstructed views of the Pfaffenstein, Lilienstein and Königstein Fortress. We reach the fortress by following the road uphill for a short distance and then turning right onto the hiking trail. You should plan at least two hours for a visit to Königstein Fortress.The descent from the fortress leads along the Eselsweg to the town centre of Königstein. We take the ferry to the right bank of the Elbe and walk left along the Elbe to the junction in the direction of Ebenheit. The route now climbs steeply until we reach the Königstein district of Ebenheit. A short section of the trail leads leisurely through meadows until the ascent to the Lilienstein challenges us again. On the plateau, a rock restaurant caters for the hiker's physical well-being. The descent leads along a different path, which takes us back to the foot of the Lilienstein via short sections of ladder. We follow the church path and later keep left onto the Lottersteig, which we follow to the Elbe and on to the spa town of Rathen.In the spa town of Rathen, we follow the signposts to the Bastei. In Amselgrund, opposite the Hotel Amselgrundschlösschen, the hiking trail leads uphill to the world-famous Bastei Bridge and the surrounding viewpoints. Before reaching the Bastei Bridge, it is worth making a detour to the Neurathen rock castle. The Bastei viewpoint offers a wonderful view of the Elbe valley. It is possible to spend the night in the Berghotel Bastei.We leave the Bastei area and follow the Bastei road to the car park. Turn right here and keep right at the next major crossroads. Following the Gansweg, we reach the Schwedenlöcher gorge. Before descending, we recommend a short detour to the viewpoint, which shows us the Bastei bridge from a completely different perspective.
Over 600 well-built steps lead us downhill through the Schwedenlöcher. Once we reach Amselgrund, we turn left and follow the path uphill to Rathewalde. We walk through the village and cross the road (Pirna - Hohnstein) in the direction of Napoleonslinde. At the former race track, we follow the road to Hockstein with a view of the Polenztal valley. Through the Wolfsschlucht gorge, we reach the Polenztal valley via well-built steps, where we turn right, follow the Polenztalweg for a short distance and climb up to the left behind the Zum Polental inn through the Schindergraben to Hohnstein. From the centre of the castle town, we follow the signs to Brand. After about 45 minutes on the well-maintained Brandstraße, we reach the Brand viewpoint, which is also known as the balcony of Saxon Switzerland. In the Brand-Baude we can fortify ourselves for the kilometres ahead.We climb downhill over the Brand steps (approx. 800 steps) and reach the road between Hohnstein and Bad Schandau. We walk along the stream on a narrow path that follows the road until we reach the entrance to the village of Porschdorf. We turn left and walk along the Sebnitz river to the Kohlmühle stop on the Semmering railway. The path leads uphill towards Rathmannsdorf and from there downhill again to Bad Schandau in the Kirnitzschtal valley.We cross the Kirnitzsch over the Ostrau bridge and climb up to the Bad Schandau district of Ostrau, which is unique for its old villas. We walk towards the Schrammsteine and turn right at the large car park onto Emmabankweg and follow the E3 markings via Klüftelweg, Zahnsgrund and Lattengrund to the entrance to the Schrammsteine - the Schrammtor. From here, we hike through rocks below the Schrammstein range until we reach the ascent via the Wildschützensteig. Via steps and smaller ladder sections, we reach the Schrammstein ridge and the Schrammstein viewpoint. From here we have a fantastic panoramic view of the rocky world of Saxon Switzerland.We walk along the Schrammstein ridge path, which is a little rough in places, towards Großer Winterberg. Along the way, there are some delightful views that invite you to enjoy a picnic with a view. We can fortify ourselves at the Großer Winterberg mountain restaurant and climb the observation tower. The descent into the Elbe valley takes us past the Kipphorn viewpoint, which once again offers a view of the Elbe valley. After about an hour, we reach the Bad Schandau district of Schmilka, where the E3 long-distance hiking trail ends on German territory.
