History

lichtenhainer_wasserfall_1_1.jpgOur house was built in 1852/53 next to the waterfall of the Lichtenhain creek. Decades before, Goetzinger, the chronicler of the Saxonian Switzerland already mentioned this waterfall, in his 1812 published work “Schandau and its Surroundings”. It was probably not enormous enough for the travelers, so the creek became dammed in the 1830s with a wind-up weir. Lichtenhainer citizens got the function of the Waterfall executor, who had a small bar in a bark hut. He opened the dam a few minutes for the “strangers” which gave him the idea for the dam.

After the guest house was built, it has been best used with the waterfall. The innkeeper felt (and still feels today) responsible for the upkeep of the waterfall, which has attracted many guests to the area. The Lichtenhainer Waterfall became an important hub on the “Fremdenweg” to the barn, “Winterberg” and “Prebischtor”. Here you could hire guides, pack animals or vehicles.

Peschke_1.jpgWhen the “Kirnitzschtalbahn” was opened on 27th of May 1898 it attracted even more guests to the area. The first wagons derailed several times on their way to the waterfall, but finally they brought the participants of the inaugural to a cold buffet at the Lichtenhainer waterfall.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists would follow. The historic dam was restored in 1994 and since then every half an hour it gets opened to shoot down a mighty torrent of water to delight the tourists.

The celebration of the 150th anniversary of our hotel is now already history. Please take a look at the festival program and a picture of E. Peschke, the first innkeeper from 1853 to 1859, and R. Lehmann, innkeeper of 1901 -1934.
As part of the German hotel classification in Saxony our guesthouse has been rated with two stars.

You can view more pictures about our history here.