Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (German pronunciation: [ˈzɛksɪʃə ˈʃvaɪts ˈʔɔstʔeːɐtsɡəˌbɪʁɡə], lit. 'Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains') is a district (Kreis) in Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Eastern Ore Mountains.

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
District
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
Capital	Pirna
Government
• District admin.	Michael Geisler (CDU)
Area
• Total	1,654 km2 (639 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2023)[1]
• Total	245,143
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	PIR, DW, FTL, SEB
Website	www.landratsamt-pirna.de

History

The district was established by merging the former districts of Sächsische Schweiz and Weißeritzkreis as part of the district reform of August 2008.

Geography

View from the viewpoint on the top of the Papststein. The three large mountains are Gohrisch (left), the Königstein Fortress (in exact centre) and the Lilienstein (right). The village on the right is Kurort Gohrisch.

The district is located between Dresden and the Czech Republic. In the southwestern part of the district the easternmost part of the Ore Mountains (″Erzgebirge") is found, the southeastern part of the district is named Saxon Switzerland, which is part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The main river of the district is the Elbe. The district borders (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Mittelsachsen and Meißen, the urban district Dresden, the district of Bautzen, and the Czech Republic.

Towns and municipalities

Clickable map of towns and municipalities in the district

Towns		Municipalities
Altenberg Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel Bad Schandau Dippoldiswalde Dohna Freital Glashütte Heidenau Hohnstein Königstein	Liebstadt Neustadt in Sachsen Pirna Rabenau Sebnitz Stadt Wehlen Stolpen Tharandt Wilsdruff	Bahretal Bannewitz Dohma Dorfhain Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach Gohrisch Hartmannsdorf-Reichenau Hermsdorf Klingenberg	Kreischa Lohmen Müglitztal Rathen Rathmannsdorf Reinhardtsdorf-Schöna Rosenthal-Bielatal Struppen

Transport

The district owns the Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, a transport company that provides bus, ferry and tram services to the district. Bundesautobahn 17 passes through the district and several major railway corridors serve the district providing access to Dresden and other local and long distance destinations.

See also

• Armorial of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge