Why this ride
A 204 km round trip from Altenberg - roughly 3 h 46 in the saddle. The stops in between: Dresden Elbe Valley, Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines, Freiberg Mining Landscape and back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape and Freiberg Mining Landscape
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 204 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 46
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Saxon Wine Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 47 km this is Saxon Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 47 km
- Named road
- Saxon Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape
Altenberg lives with a hole in the ground, and is proud of it. The Pinge, a huge funnel of collapsed workings beside the town, opened up in 1620 when old tin mine tunnels caved in, and later collapses widened it into the crater you can look into today. Tin was the reason for everything here: the town grew around the mines in the fifteenth century, and the Zinnwald workings a few kilometres up the ridge, right on the Czech border, kept digging into modern times. The whole district is part of the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region, a UNESCO listing shared between Saxony and Bohemia.
Read the complete Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape is where the day begins. Next is Dresden Elbe Valley.
2. Dresden Elbe Valley
Dresden's Elbe valley once held a World Heritage listing and then lost it. Inscribed in 2004 for its blend of Baroque city, river meadows, palaces and vineyards, it was removed from the list in 2009 after the city built the Waldschlösschen bridge across the meadows, a decision that sparked fierce debate. The landscape itself, however, remains beautiful: the river curves through wide green meadows, with the domes and spires of the old town on one side and the villas and vineyards of the Loschwitz slopes on the other.
Read the complete Dresden Elbe Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dresden Elbe Valley comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines.
3. Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines
In 2008, when parts of the old town of Dippoldiswalde began to subside, engineers investigating the problem found something nobody expected: a network of medieval silver mines running beneath the streets, dating back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The tunnels contained remarkably well preserved wooden ladders, tools and even shoes, offering an unparalleled glimpse of mining at the start of the Ore Mountains' silver boom. These finds are part of the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region listed by UNESCO in 2019.
Read the complete Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines. Next is Freiberg Mining Landscape.
4. Freiberg Mining Landscape
Silver was found near Freiberg in 1168, and within a few decades the town had become one of the richest in Saxony. For eight centuries, miners dug ever deeper into the hills, and the wealth they brought up paid for churches, palaces and the splendours of Dresden. Freiberg's Bergakademie, founded in 1765, is the oldest mining university in the world still operating, and its mineral collection is one of the finest anywhere. The town and its mining landscape are part of the Erzgebirge mining region listed by UNESCO, shared between Germany and the Czech Republic.
Read the complete Freiberg Mining Landscape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Freiberg Mining Landscape, about halfway. Next is back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines.
5. back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines sits at 131 km, about halfway. Next is back through Dresden Elbe Valley.
6. back through Dresden Elbe Valley
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dresden Elbe Valley write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dresden Elbe Valley comes up about 157 km into the recorded legs. Next is Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape.
7. Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape closes the day.
Leg by leg
Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape to Dresden Elbe Valley
Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape → Dresden Elbe Valley is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dresden Elbe Valley to Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines
Dresden Elbe Valley → Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines to Freiberg Mining Landscape
Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines → Freiberg Mining Landscape is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Freiberg Mining Landscape to back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines
Freiberg Mining Landscape → back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines to back through Dresden Elbe Valley
back through Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines → back through Dresden Elbe Valley is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dresden Elbe Valley to Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape
back through Dresden Elbe Valley → Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Lauenstein Administrative Centre and Freiberg Mining Landscape · 189 km
- Dresden afternoon · Altenberg-Zinnwald Mining Landscape · 281 km
- Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines and Grünthal Silver-Copper Liquation Works · 234 km from Dippoldiswalde · 234 km
- Dippoldiswalde Medieval Silver Mines and Grünthal Silver-Copper Liquation Works · 232 km from Dippoldiswalde · 232 km