Good evening, ladies & gentlemen! Another pic from Saxonia, from the fortress Koenigstein we met in October 2008... This is the main entrance of the fortress since more then 4 centuries. When they decided in 1589 to upgrade the old castle on top of the tablemount, they built a new entrance in a natural cleft of the sandstone. This here is the hole were all had to pass through: Arms, cannons, food, constructing material, prisoners and VIPS.... This door is armed with all things enemies do not like: Boiling water, burning oil, stone catapults, barricades and, and, and.... Behind the gate is a steep ramp, the so called "Dark Appareille". This was a very dangerous working place in early times, often they had heavy accidents here, when horse-powered vehicles lost their freight here and men and horses died. Later they built a winch, first man-powered, later with a steam machine. The gate is crowned by a portrait of August The Strong, prince- elector of Saxonia and King of Poland. Later the gate was not safe enough and they built a second armed gate before, then a third... Napoleon and the fortress Koenigstein: Napoleon and Saxonia were united since 1806, and they did till Napoleon`s end. After Napoleon`s lost war against Russia the river Elbe became more military interest as a defence line against the Preussian and Russian armies. In summer 1813 teh big world came along: Napoleon planned a trap here between the two tablemounts, the Koenigstein on one site and the Lilienstein (Lily`s Stone) on the other side of the river Elbe. French and saxonian soldiers built two bridges, a military camp at the opposite side, took 22 cannons to the other side. Koenigstein was upgraded with 500 french cannoniers. At 26th August 1813 an french army with 40 000 soldiers under general Vandamme crossed here the Elbe, protected by the fortress. They should unite with Napoleon near Dresden, but were stopped nearby. Vandammes army was beaten up at 30th August in the battle of Kulm. The french troops left the fortress Koenigstein at 7th October 1813... This was the story of the "Napoleon summer", when the fortress was near at a real war.....HUUUUHH (LOL) Thanks for your interest and your comments for my older pics, specially for those of you who took the last pics as their favorites. Friends, I have a lot of fun to write this story: I´m thinking about Napoleon, waiting for the enemy, but the enemy don`t come...LOL