The Kuhstall: a cave with a view
An arch in the rock, a narrow staircase to the top and an inn next door since 1824.
The Kuhstall ("cowshed") is a massive rock arch in the Neuer Wildenstein, in the rear part of Saxon Switzerland, 11 metres (36 ft) high and 17 metres (56 ft) wide. Walk through it and you stand on a viewpoint above the Affensteine massif. The national park authority counts it among the park's most popular destinations.
The name comes from a legend: in times of war, the cave and the rugged rocks around it are said to have hidden the people of the surrounding villages and their animals from plundering armies. On the plateau above lie the remains of a 15th-century castle of the Wildenstein lordship.
The Himmelsleiter ("stairway to heaven"), a narrow staircase between two rock walls, leads up. It branches off to the left of the rock arch railing and ends at another viewpoint. Broad shoulders and a large rucksack make it noticeably tighter.
An inn was built at the Kuhstall as early as 1824. It still exists today and is a national park partner. Neither the authority nor the tourism association names an entrance fee or opening hours for the rock itself; you pay for getting there and parking.
The Kuhstall lies in the middle of the national park: based on the park boundary in OpenStreetMap, about one and a half kilometres inside. That is why the authority's rule applies: you may only walk on the existing paths.
National park authority: sights in the national park ↗
In numbers
- Height of the arch
- 11 m (36 ft)
- Width of the arch
- 17 m (56 ft)
- Inn since
- 1824
- Castle remains
- 15th century
- Loop from the waterfall
- 3.42 km · 173 m ascent
- Lowest / highest point
- 160 m / 329 m
- From Schmilka
- 11.04 km · 649 m ascent
