Although this stage runs mainly on asphalted, more or less busy roads and is more of a walk than a hike, it takes us past all the vineyards in the Dresden city area. And we discover stately, lovingly renovated villas, fantastic views of the Elbe valley and some wine-growing gems along the way. This is why this stage is particularly recommended for those interested in history and culture.
The starting point is the former village square Am Rathaus in Dresden-Pillnitz, which became world-famous for its pleasure palace with its large Baroque and English park.
We head west into Dresdner Straße and follow it for a while.
If you don't want to miss out on a beautiful view, take a detour and turn off Dresdner Straße into Hausbergstraße/Hoher Steig. The Hoher Steig leads us up the steps to the Hausberg, once probably the site of a medieval castle, later a vineyard and, after the phylloxera disaster, a fruit orchard, today a residential area with beautiful views. After climbing the stairs, we keep left on Copitzer Straße, along the old vineyard walls and then downhill back to Dresdner Straße (turn right at a pillar) to follow the path from there.
We pass the Catholic chapel "Maria am Wege" and the Royal Villa, both built for Prince George of Saxony in 1877 and 1864 respectively.
A few meters further on, we stand in front of the Carl Maria von Weber Memorial, a winegrower's house where the composer was a guest as conductor of the Dresden court orchestra in 1818/19 and from 1822 to 1824. Today, the charming museum also hosts concerts in the small hall and garden.
Shortly after the Carl Maria von Weber Museum, we turn right into Keppgrundweg. We soon pass the Keppschloss (residential building, not accessible), which has a completely different character to the museum, before continuing along the wooded Hosterwitzer Königsweg and then turning into the Pressgrund.
Following the signposts (An der Kucksche, Rockauer Straße), we now come to the district of Niederpoyritz, where wine was grown from the mid-17th century until the end of the 19th century.
A detour into the uphill Helfenberger Grund with numerous walls of former vineyards to the former manor with park and back via the Pressallee (red dot trail marker) would take 1 hour.
Otherwise we continue walking (Eugen-Dietrich-Straße, Staffelsteinstraße) until we turn into Siedlungsstraße and enjoy the view of the steep slopes to the Elbe at a turning loop.
We descend an old vineyard staircase to Pillnitzer Landstraße and follow it to the junction with Wachwitzer Bergstraße, which we walk up and then turn into Königsweg.
At Oberwachwitzer Weg, the trail descends steeply to Pillnitzer Landstraße and after a short stretch, we turn right into Am Steinberg and walk to Altwachwitz, a former wine-growing village, which is easily recognized by the numerous wine-growers' houses.
After the decline of viticulture due to the phylloxera catastrophe, magnificent villas were built here - testimony to the former residential area of scientific and artistic celebrities - which we discover on Am Steinberg.
At its end, we climb a few steps and turn onto a path that leads through the Königlicher Wachwitzer Weinberg. Since its revival in 1987, this steep, heavily parcelled vineyard has been cultivated mainly by amateur winegrowers, who can sometimes be seen working in the vineyard or engaged in conversation. In the meantime, parts of the royal vineyard at Wachwitz have been taken over by the Alexandre Dupont de Ligonnès vineyard.
The small vineyard chapel is just as inaccessible as the royal villa, which is now used for residential purposes following extensive renovation - as are all the other historic and newly built houses in the Wachwitz rhododendron garden.
Above the rhododendron garden, the route continues along Wachwitzer Weinberg and Josef-Hegenbarth-Weg to Calberlastraße and on to Robert-Diez-Straße.
We follow Veilchenweg to Körnerplatz, where we pass under the Loschwitz suspension railroad (built in 1901). Here it is worth taking a short walk through Altloschwitz (approx. 20 min.) or walking along the Loschwitz circular route (60 min.) or the Körner circular route (45 min.).
From Körnerplatz, we turn into Körnerweg towards the Elbe and walk along the Elbe. The vineyards on the right belong to Dinglinger's vineyard, which once belonged to Augustus the Strong's court jeweller, Johann Melchior Dinglinger, and has been replanted by the new private owner (Dinglinger's Vineyard Society, Dr. Hollenders) since 1999.
Now the three "Elbe castles" greet you: Schloss Eckberg (now a hotel and restaurant), Lingnerschloss (also known as Villa Stockhausen, gradually being renovated by the Förderverein Lingnerschloss e.V., used for events, weddings, Lingnerterrassen restaurant and beer garden) and Albrechtsberg Castle with its imposing park and nearby Kavaliershaus (wines with a view, winegrower Lutz Müller). Some of the former vineyards have been replanted.
An ascent from the Körnerweg and subsequent walk through the park connecting all three castles is worthwhile - also because of the magnificent views of the Elbe and Dresden.
The actual hiking trail continues along the Elbe to below the Brauhaus am Waldschlösschen (restaurant) and offers a view of the bridge of the same name, which brought Dresden into inglorious headlines, but has now noticeably eased the traffic situation. Let everyone decide for themselves whether this bridge justifies the revocation of the World Heritage title for the Dresden Elbe Valley.
We continue along the Körnerweg, alongside the Elbe, and after leaving it via the Diakonissenweg, we now follow an admittedly less attractive section of the Saxon Wine Trail through residential areas, but through the trendy Ä ußere Neustadt (Bautzner Straße (Pfundsmolkerei), Pulsnitzer Straße (Alter Jüdischer Friedhof), Louisenstraße, Kamenzer Straße, Alaunpark (playground, public toilet), Alaunplatz, Tannenstraße, Königsbrücker Platz (Theaterruine St. Pauli), Schanzenstraße (playground), Buchenstraße, Hechtstraße, Maxim-Gorki-Straße, Döbelner Straße, turn right at the corner of Trachenberger Straße (playground, café), Weinberg-, A.-Henselstraße, Kändlerstraße, Döbelner Straße). But until the phylloxera catastrophe, wine was grown everywhere here, which we can only guess today from the mighty quarry stone walls, old winegrowers' houses and wine-related names and architectural details.
Finally, we end the second stage of the wine trail at the "Wilder Mann" stop on Großenhainer Straße, which is connected to the local public transport network. For refreshments after the hike, there is a bakery with a café directly opposite. About 500 m up Großenhainer Straße we reach the Hotel Bergwirtschaft Wilder Mann.
