More visitors to the Königstein - 2025 festival for giant barrel

Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland once again recorded an increase in visitors last year. According to the administration, almost 452,600 guests visited, 5.6 percent more than in 2023. This means that after the coronavirus pandemic, the balance is steadily rising towards the previous level. Since its opening in 1955, almost 33.9 million people have visited the rocky plateau in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains with more than a dozen exhibitions and productions in the historic buildings and gardens.

Baroque-opulent journey through time in summer

A special anniversary has been announced for 2025: 300 years of the giant barrel. A two-day festival will celebrate "one of the most curious buildings of the Augustan Baroque", with "strolling, dining, singing and dancing". The container, filled with 238,600 liters of wine, was inaugurated in 1725 in the presence of the legendary Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong (1670-1733). "It is still the world's largest barrel that has ever been filled to the brim with wine," said André Thieme, Managing Director of Festung Königstein gGmbH. This was the occasion for a "baroque-opulent journey through time".

The medieval Bohemian royal castle, first mentioned in a document in 1241, later became a monastery, then a state fortress, a courtly festival venue, an art depot and also a prison. Since 1955, the 9.5-hectare fortress site has been an open-air museum with over 50 buildings from different eras and is sometimes used as a film and TV location. The Free State of Bavaria has invested almost 80 million euros in renovation and maintenance since 1991, around 2.5 million euros in 2024 alone. A further 2.6 million euros are planned by the end of 2026.

Sustainable management on the rocky plateau

According to Thieme, Königstein is becoming sustainable in terms of tourism and was given a photovoltaic system on the historic crew barracks in 2024. In addition, a flowering meadow for bees and a meadow orchard were planted, electric vehicles are used on the plateau and employees use job bikes. The grass areas are "mowed" naturally by goats and sheep, while the 152.5-metre deep well and the historic cisterns provide extinguishing and irrigation water.