Germany Slot canyon
Schwedenlöcher
233 m of rock, cut by the Brückengrundbach.
Dr. Bernd Gross · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
233 metres, to scale.
A slice through Schwedenlöcher where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.
233m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
10.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
18°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
111m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are from July to August: in a narrow canyon a flash flood arrives without warning, even from rain upstream.
- 2°0°Jan
- 4°2°Feb
- 8°6°Mar
- 15°13°Apr
- 20°18°May
- 24°22°Jun
- 26°24°Jul
- 26°24°Aug
- 21°19°Sep
- 14°12°Oct
- 8°6°Nov
- 3°1°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Valley in Lohmen, Germany
Schwedenlöcher is a slot canyon in Germany, cut by the Brückengrundbach river. The relief model measures 233 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 289 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 11 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Hohnsteinnearest town · 3.1 km in a straight line
- Parking 100 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.2 km from the floor
- Dresden Airport (DRS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 28 km in a straight lineCar hire at DRS airport (Dresden)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Brückengrundbach runs highest from January to September.
The Brückengrundbach carries about 322 m³/s on average here.
- 413 m³/sJan
- 453 m³/sFeb
- 690 m³/sMar
- 507 m³/sApr
- 492 m³/sMay
- 354 m³/sJun
- 433 m³/sJul
- 455 m³/sAug
- 384 m³/sSep
- 304 m³/sOct
- 237 m³/sNov
- 163 m³/sDec
From about 163 m³/s in the lowest month to 690 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 51,896 km².
The Biela from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 134viewpoints within 5 kmKanapee, Felsenburg, Ferdinandaussicht and 131 more
- 36marked hiking routes within 4 kmRundweg Roter Punkt (Meißen - Schmilka), Fernwanderweg Zittau – Wernigerode (Sachsen Ost), Goßdorf and 33 more
- 348climbing crags within 3 kmAmeise, Ameisenwand, Anstand and 345 more
- 67footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmStaumauer Amselsee, Teufelsbrücke, Bornweg and 64 more
- 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmDKV-Zeltplatz, Einsetzstelle für Kanus und Schlauchboote
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmAmselfall, Linsenfall
- 26caves within 3 km
- 112car parks within 3 km
- 327information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 16bus stops within 2 km
- 23campsites within 8 kmCampinggelegenheit an der Ochelbaude, Nikolsdorf-Biwak, Biwak-Quirl and 20 more
- 351hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGasthaus "Zum Pfaffenstein“, Landgasthaus zum Schwarzbachtal, Pension Schrägers Gasthaus and 348 more
- 53restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Hohnstein3.1 km in a straight line
- Stadt Wehlen3.2 km in a straight line
- Porschdorf4.8 km in a straight line
- Lohmen5.4 km in a straight line
- Struppen5.7 km in a straight line
- Königstein6.0 km in a straight line
- Rathmannsdorf6.5 km in a straight line
- Kurort Gohrisch6.8 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Schwedenlöcher.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas18 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas98 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -5 | -2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 44 | 50 | 38 | 66 | 75 | 89 | 83 | 59 | 56 | 56 | 56 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 16 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 0 | -6 | 63 | 1.2 |
| Feb | 4 | 2 | -5 | 44 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 8 | 6 | -2 | 50 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 15 | 13 | 3 | 38 | 6.2 |
| May | 20 | 18 | 7 | 66 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 24 | 22 | 11 | 75 | 6.9 |
| Jul | 26 | 24 | 14 | 89 | 6.8 |
| Aug | 26 | 24 | 13 | 83 | 6.3 |
| Sep | 21 | 19 | 8 | 59 | 5.1 |
| Oct | 14 | 12 | 4 | 56 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 8 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 3 | 1 | -4 | 56 | 0.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (111 m) and the rim (400 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 53% | 241% | 86% | 19% | 109% | 164% | 43% | 148% | 102% | 188% | 29% | 41% |
| 2021 | 122% | 107% | 85% | 119% | 162% | 124% | 126% | 135% | 46% | 43% | 101% | 101% |
| 2022 | 86% | 160% | 24% | 132% | 64% | 148% | 42% | 115% | 124% | 55% | 80% | 74% |
| 2023 | 86% | 138% | 156% | 171% | 37% | 90% | 60% | 162% | 46% | 157% | 187% | 183% |
| 2024 | 92% | 202% | 42% | 97% | 100% | 92% | 76% | 101% | 221% | 64% | 94% | 74% |
| 2025 | 91% | 38% | 60% | 73% | 95% | 73% | 120% | 58% | 129% | 118% | 76% | 47% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Schwedenlöcher
Germany
- 233 mDepth
- 11 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 18°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2254686) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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