GPX ViewGermany
Malerweg
The painters' way, following the viewpoints where German Romantic painters once set up their easels, through the sandstone towers of the Elbe.
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136 m · 0.0 km
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- Distance
- 114.7 km
- Elevation gain
- 2,924 m
- Elevation loss
- 2,882 m
- Highest point
- 547 m
- Walking time
- 36 h · ~6 d
Estimated walking time (DIN 33466 standard) — breaks, meals and overnight stays not included.
Tracks derived from OpenStreetMap data, under the ODbL license.
The terrain
A sandstone massif carved into tables and needles, where the trail spends its time climbing and dropping between the valley floors and the plateau. The total elevation gain is surprising given the altitude — you never go above five hundred metres. Many flights of steps cut into the rock and a few metal ladders, but nothing that calls for technical skill.
When to go
April to October. Spring and autumn give the sandstone its best light, the kind that drew the painters here; in summer the best-known sites — the Bastei above all — are packed by morning. The rock turns slippery in wet weather, and the steps with it.
Access and stages
The start is at Pirna, twenty minutes by train from Dresden, and the finish at Bad Schandau, also on the line. Allow eight days for the eight official stages. The S-Bahn running along the Elbe serves almost every stage end, which makes it easy to walk in sections from a single base.
Take the track into the field
The downloaded file opens in GPX View, which shows the route, the remaining elevation and your position on it — with no network once the map is saved.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this GPX free?
- Yes, no account or sign-up needed. The track is derived from OpenStreetMap and stays under the ODbL license: reusable, provided you credit the source.
- Can I walk just part of it?
- That's actually the most common way. Each stage ends near a station or a landing, so you can do one day and head back by train — no shuttle logistics needed.
- Is it suitable for children?
- The individual stages, yes: they're short and the terrain has nothing hostile about it. Steps and footbridges are frequent, which delights more than it scares, but a few viewpoints are exposed.