Königstein Fortress, the "Saxon Bastille", is a famous historic mountaintop fortress in Saxony in Germany which for centuries was used as a state prison and which is still intact, and a major tourist attraction, today.

A castle since the mid-13th century situated on a prominent, isolated rock in the "Saxonian Switzerland" region, it originally belonged to the Kings of Bohemia, passing in 1408 to the Dukes of Saxony. Between 1516 and 1524, it included a monastery (Celestines, but it always remained a stronghold and a fortress with its own garrison; the fortifications were always updated and enlarged to meet the latest requirements of arms technology.

Because Königstein Fortress was regarded unconquerable, the Saxon monarchs retreated to it from Wittenberg and later Dresden during times of crisis and also deposited the state treasure and many works of art from the famous Zwinger here; it was also used as a country retreat due to its lovely surroundings. The Königstein also became the state prison for the most important prisoners (until 1922, such as

• the Crypto-Calvinists, including Caspar Peucer
• Johann Friedrich Böttger , the inventor of European porcelain
• the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin
• the founder of German social democracy, August Bebel

Because of Böttger, the Königstein Fortress is also a site of the invention of European porcelain. Böttger also bilt the "Great Königstein Cask" in 1725, the greatest wine barrel in the world (and larger than the one in Heidelberg), with 238,000 litres' capacity.

Outside links:

• Königstein Fortress
• Town of Königstein