Affensteine, Rock formation in Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Germany

The Affensteine are a long, deeply fissured rock group of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains east of Bad Schandau, bounded by the Kirnitzsch valley to the north and the Elbe valley to the south. Their highest point is the plateau of the Lange Horn at 460 metres. Pale grey sandstone towers with dark vertical streaks rise above forested slopes, and the Carolafelsen, named after Saxony's last queen, Carola von Wasa-Holstein-Gottorp, reaches 453 metres.

The sandstone rocks formed during the early Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago when the entire region lay beneath a shallow sea. Over millions of years, water and erosion shaped these distinctive towers and cracks.

The name has two explanations. One is a legend: a young nobleman imprisoned in the Vorderes Raubschloss escaped with a rope carried up the cliff by his tame monkey, then fled to Bohemia. The more likely origin is the old German word Auf for owl, which nested here; Aufensteine became Affensteine over the years.

The area can be explored on several marked paths that lead to different viewpoints and connect to the wider trail network. Sturdy footwear is important since some paths are steep and the terrain can be uneven.

The Carolafelsen, at 453 metres, is named after Carola of Wasa-Holstein-Gottorp, Saxony's last queen. It is a viewpoint reached on foot, not a climbing crag; the massif's climbing routes lie on towers such as the Frienstein, first climbed in 1873, and the 90-metre north face of the Bloßstock, first ascended in 1958.