Sächsische Schweiz

Summary

Older than the national park is the Saxon Switzerland landscape conservation area, which surrounds both parts of the national park and completes the national park region. Table mountains, plateaus, rocky gorges and the Elbe valley form a diverse cultural and natural landscape.

Description

The natural area of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains on the left bank of the Elbe is characterised not only by natural forms of erosion but also by the close interlocking of forest, open land and settlements. Natural, ecological, cultural and aesthetic values merge here to create an unmistakable overall impression for which this landscape is so well known. The designation of the Saxon Switzerland landscape conservation area in 1956 (287.5 km²) is linked to the task of preserving nature and landscape in their entirety and ensuring their special recreational suitability. This is to be achieved through traditional and sustainable land use and maintenance. In addition to environmentally friendly agriculture and forestry, all forms of gentle tourism and a settlement development limited to its own needs, which blends harmoniously into the landscape, are particularly important. Since 1972, the Elbe Sandstone Mountains (Labské pískovce) landscape conservation area (250 km²) in the Czech Republic has been connected to the German landscape conservation area - an important prerequisite for the uniform protection across the border.