Bohemian Switzerland

About

The artist Ludwig Richter set up his easel in this land of weirdly weathered rocks and medieval robber-baron hideouts while Carl von Weber set his famous opera Der Freischütz in one of its towns. There are some beautiful spots to just linger in, such as the pretty village of Jetřichovice in the Děčín district with its baroque church, though for a more active approach try the village of Tiské (Tisa) in the Elbe Mountains. Tiské gives its name to the Tiské Stěny, the 'Tisa Walls' one of the most captivating natural formations in the area. Rising to the north of the village to a height of over 600 meters, these sandstone walls enclose a whole labyrinthine sandstone city. Rock towers and needles, honeycombs, gates, windows, and whatever your imagination can sculpt out of the sandstone as you walk through a dense network of narrow gorges and ravines. But don't worry, the robber-barons have long since been captured. Most of them anyway.