Hike to the Wahnsdorf Heights

After you have reached the Lößnitzgrund road again via a short descent, keep to the right. After about 200 m you reach the Rieselgrundweg, on which you walk up a considerable incline to Wahnsdorf. At the top, turn right into Gartenweg and pass some stately farmsteads, some of which date back to the 18th century. Continue along the path until it joins Spitzhausstraße, into which you turn right. 

At the end of the path, past the Birkenhof, you reach the Spitzhaus. The former pleasure and vineyard house was built in 1622 in the late Renaissance style and had a completely different appearance compared to today. Its most famous owners included General von Flemming and Countess Cosel. The Spitzhaus belonged to the Saxon ruling dynasty from 1710 and returned to private ownership in 1889. After structural additions and alterations, the Spitzhaus was opened as a restaurant in 1902. Next to the Spitzhaus is the Bismarck Tower, which was built in honour of the former Chancellor of the Reich, Prince von Bismarck, in 1907. The building was financed by donations, collections and a raffle. 

A little further on is the Spitzhaus staircase. It was built between 1747 and 1750 according to designs by the master builder Pöppelmann. The staircase is popularly known as the "Jahrestreppe" (annual staircase) because of the number of steps. The upper end of the staircase is formed by the shell pavilion. Descending the steps, you reach the historic ensemble of buildings of the Hoflößnitz winery. Hoflößnitz - founded by the Saxon court as a vineyard estate - was first mentioned in a document in 1401 and at that time consisted only of a simple wine press as a half-timbered building and outbuildings. In 1650, the master builder Ezechiel Eckardt was commissioned by Johann Georg I to build a new mountain house, which was used for stays during the grape harvest. After changing owners several times, the Hoflößnitzverein acquired the site in 1912 and restored it to its original condition under the direction of Prof. Högg. In 1915, the municipality of Oberlößnitz bought the mountain house and opened it in 1924 as a museum of local history, today's Hoflößnitz Wine Estate Museum. Regular exhibitions, thematic wine tastings and monthly chamber concerts are held here. 

From here, another flight of stairs leads back to Lößnitzgrundstraße, into which you turn left, cross Weinbergstraße and continue to follow Mühlweg on the right. This will take you back to the starting point of the walk. You can now take tram line 4 in the direction of Dresden or Weinböhla.