Kuhstall, Natural arch in Ostrau Bad Schandau, Germany

Kuhstall is a rock arch on the Neuer Wildenstein, 11 m high, 17 m wide and 24 m deep, cut into sandstone above the Kirnitzsch valley. Its left side is a thick pillar with reddish-brown streaks; the right side is a broad craggy wall, lighter and smoothed at the base. A pale dirt path runs through the dark opening, and a wooden display board with two glazed panels stands by the left pillar.

The arch sits on the Neuer Wildenstein rock, 337 m high, which was controlled by Wildenstein Castle in the 15th century. During the Thirty Years' War, villagers from surrounding settlements hid their cattle under the wide opening from marauding Swedish soldiers; another account holds that the castle's inhabitants kept stolen livestock there. In 1819 August von Goethe stopped here and noted beer, strawberries, lemonade and rum being served. A mountain inn has stood beside the arch since 1824, and the Kirnitzschtalbahn reached Lichtenhainer Wasserfall in 1898.

The name Kuhstall (cow stall) recalls two explanations: villagers hid their cattle here from Swedish soldiers during the Thirty Years' War, or the medieval castle's occupants kept stolen cattle under the arch. Early tourists left inscriptions in soot, paint and scratched into the walls and ceiling; Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger's proposed name Wildensteiner Felsenhalle never replaced the popular one.

The site is accessible via hiking trails that wind through the valley, with multiple starting points available in the surrounding area. Wear sturdy footwear since sections of the path are rocky and uneven.

The name refers not to shepherds but to cattle hidden in the arch: villagers sheltered their livestock here from marauding Swedish soldiers during the Thirty Years' War, and the medieval castle above is said to have kept stolen cattle here. Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger proposed the name Wildensteiner Felsenhalle, but the popular Kuhstall prevailed.