Some guests and even locals suspect the beginning of the Saxon Wine Route and the Saxon Wine Hiking Trail in Dresden-Pillnitz, as the first large-scale vineyards appear there. But the city of Pirna is the starting point for both wine routes for good reason: on the one hand, the wine-growing area extended to Pirna at its peak in the 18th century, and on the other hand, diligent amateur winemakers also revived some old terraces here in the 1990s through painstaking work.
The exact starting point for the 1st stage and thus for the entire Saxon Wine Hiking Trail is the hiking parking lot on the Elbe at Postaer Straße at the entrance to Mockethaler Grund in the Oberposta district, where there are some well-preserved vintner houses and other testimonies of historical viticulture (including sandstone steps through terraced vineyards; near the wine hiking trail: original vintner sign in the wall of a former vintner's yard (Oberposta 27) and a panel on the wine cultural landscape Posta at the vineyard (near the property Niederposta 3)).
On foot, the hiking parking lot can be reached from Pirna station either via the Pirna city bridge, Fährstraße, main square, upper square, Postaer Straße or by ferry F9 via Brückenstraße, Am Elbufer - ferry ride - from the ferry dock to the left, direction Elbe parking lot Copitz, ferry path, upper square, Postaer Straße (each about 30 min).
From the hiking parking lot, go up Grundstraße into the Mockethaler Grund, then a zigzag path with yellow dot marking to Burglehnpfad. Past the Ehrenhain, the route marking continues northward (Burglehnstr., Karl-Büttner-Str., Albert-Barthel-Str., Liebethaler Str., Tannenweg, Fichtenweg, Altjessen) until we reach Weinbergweg and follow this to a crossroads (waypost), then turn left and continue on Grundmühlenweg, bridge over Radeberger Straße (S177), Meiereiweg (former dairy with pretty pond) to Lindenallee (Evangelical parish church from 1902).
This leads uphill to the right; after 600 m the wine hiking trail branches off (Lochmühlenweg) and takes us to the Graupa Hunting Lodge. Here, on the occasion of Richard Wagner's 200th birthday, a modern and multimedia permanent exhibition on Wagner's work was opened, part of the Richard Wagner Sites, which also include the nearby Lohengrin House. In this oldest museum residence in the world, the great German composer and Dresden court music director worked on his opera "Lohengrin" in 1846. Opposite the parking lot of the Richard Wagner Museum, an ice cream parlor and a playground invite you to linger.
According to the route marking, we get to Kleingraupa village square via Richard-Wagner-Str., Badstraße, Lindengrundstraße with beautifully restored farmhouses and finally via Kreuzerbergstraße and Weinbergsweg to the district Oberpoyritz, which already belongs to Dresden.
Then we come to the Rysselkuppe, a vineyard ecologically managed by the Klaus Zimmerling winery.
We continue along Bergweg and reach the Pillnitz Royal Vineyard, at the upper edge of which the Leitenweg leads with magnificent views of the Elbe valley with its orchards, vineyard terraces, and the small baroque Pillnitz Vineyard Church. Here on Leitenweg, with its old watchmen's and vintner houses, amateur winemakers from Pillnitz have also created an 800 m long wine educational trail with interesting information about viticulture.
We reach Wünschendorfer Straße and follow it to An der Schäferei to the former village square Am Rathaus in Pillnitz.
There the destination of the 1st stage is reached. Those who have time should definitely take a stroll through the Pillnitz Park with its dendrological features afterwards – or come back. The entire park and castle complex with its museums is worth a several-hour visit. For dining and overnight stays, the Schlosshotel Pillnitz with restaurant invites you. Not far from the park, the Chocolaterie am Fliederhof offers a wide range of locally produced chocolates from the region, and in the Backwirtschaft of the Wippler bakery, you can end the day with coffee and cake.
