Kleiner Bärenstein, Sandstone summit in Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Germany.

Kleiner Bärenstein is a sandstone summit in Saxon Switzerland that rises alongside its larger neighbor to form a distinctive rocky mass. The peak is surrounded by steep slopes and provides wide views across the forested landscape of the region.

The summit was first documented in writing in 1548 under the name 'im Behrenstein'. Over the following centuries, it gradually became a recognized landmark in the exploration of this mountain region.

The mountain's name comes from the two bears kept in a bear pit here from 1902 by innkeeper Karl Friedrich Thurecht, who wanted the summit to live up to its name. The small wooden inn opened in 1847 and was rebuilt in stone after 1867; its foundations remain visible. A memorial tablet to Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger was placed in the Diebskeller cave in 1886.

Multiple marked hiking trails approach the summit from different directions and connect with nearby villages of Thürmsdorf and Naundorf. The walks are moderately challenging and require good footwear due to the rocky terrain.

The summit's sandstone is unusually soft and weathered, so unlike other table hills of Saxon Switzerland it shows irregularly bent strata and slanted fissures rather than horizontal bedding. The rock face called Jungfernsprung carries a carved cross, said to mark a girl who leapt from the cliff while fleeing Swedish soldiers in the Thirty Years' War.