Deutsch · English · Français · Čeština · Nederlands · Polski · Italiano
Schweizermühle – history and legends
Just a short way up the Biela lies the Schweizermühle – a famous spa resort in the 19th century. In 1837 an old mill was turned into a cold-water cure establishment with spa houses in Swiss style, villas and romantic rock gardens; Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia and the King of Saxony came here for their summer retreats. Today it is a starting point for hikes and climbing rocks, and between the trees you can still discover traces of the old spa.
The name
from the Oberhüttenmühle to the Schweizermühle: The Oberhütten hammer works once stood here, together with a mill; a sawmill is mentioned in 1567. From 1800 the miller Johann Gottlob Geißler ran the mill, and even then travellers stopped by, such as Wilhelm Leberecht Götzinger and Carl Heinrich Nicolai, the first “promoters” of Saxon Switzerland. On 20 June 1824, at the suggestion of the local historian Carl Merkel, the Oberhüttenmühle was ceremonially renamed the “Schweizermühle” (Swiss Mill).
The cold-water cure establishment
In 1837 the miller Geißler set up a cold-water cure establishment – at first with simple tub baths and plunge showers right by the Biela. In those days cold spring water was considered a remedy for all sorts of ailments. Then came the Old Spa House in 1838, a second spa house in 1842 and in 1866 the assembly house with its spa hall; in the 1870s there were 177 guest rooms, all fully booked in summer.
Spa life and technology
After a fire in 1886, a new bath house was built in 1888/89 with a wave pool, swimming pool, tub baths, showers and a flat for the spa doctor. From 1894 a turbine on the Biela generated electricity for the spa – a small sensation in the valley at the time. From 1887 until around 1900 the resort even had its own Imperial post office with a telegraph office.
Famous spa guests
In 1878 the Prussian Crown Princess Victoria – eldest daughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria and later “Empress Frederick” – came to the Schweizermühle. Saxony’s last king, Friedrich August III, also visited the resort several times up to 1911, and indeed the Saxon royal family as a whole were guests here. The composer Erik Meyer-Helmund is said to have taken a cure here in 1889. Wealthy regulars even had their own villas built.
Painters, hikers and climbers
Even before the spa came into being, the valley attracted artists: in 1822 Ludwig Richter etched the “Bielergrund bei den Oberhütten”, right here. In the autumn of 1890 the mountaineer Oscar Schuster, one of the pioneers of Saxon climbing, came for his first climbs on the rocks around the Schweizermühle – the Bielatal is still a climbing area today, with more than 200 summits.
Villas and romantic gardens
Around 1846 the Swede Carl Martin Bergwal had a villa with a park laid out – the “Schwedengarten” (Swedish Garden) with an artificial ruined tower. In 1868/69 the Turmvilla (Tower Villa) was built, which from 1875 belonged to the Dresden chocolate manufacturer Jordan (Jordan & Timaeus) – hence “Villa Jordan”. In 1890/91 Mrs Hahnewald, the wife of a judicial councillor, donated the neo-Gothic Waldkapelle (Forest Chapel), and the manufacturer Dölitzsch laid out a rock garden in honour of his mother.
The railway that never arrived
From 1901 the “Gleislose Bielathal-Motorbahn” (Trackless Bielatal Motor Railway) – one of the very first trolleybuses anywhere – ran from Königstein into the Bielatal as far as the Königsbrunn spa. An extension to the Schweizermühle spa house was applied for but never built; the line was closed again as early as 1904.
Maggi and afterwards
In 1912 the last operator of the spa had to file for bankruptcy. The Maggi company turned it into a holiday home for its employees and, between 1929 and 1932, laid out a memorial grove for colleagues killed in the war. After the war came a tuberculosis sanatorium and, from 1968, an old people’s home, which closed in 1992; after that many of the buildings fell into ruin.
What can still be seen today
The Old Spa House of 1838 was demolished in 2009, and in 2013 further parts of the buildings collapsed – since 2005 a support association and private individuals have been looking after the ensemble. Still to be seen are the Villa Jordan with its clock tower and park, the Waldkapelle of 1891, the bath house with its turbine house and the enclosed Sophienquelle spring. The Schweizermühle – Ottomühle – Grenzplatte circular trail leads past them.
Legend The legend of the French treasure in the Glasergrund
In the Glasergrund near the Ottomühle, above the Schweizermühle, French soldiers are said to have buried a treasure in 1813. One day a man from the neighbouring village saw it lying there in the open – silver coins, piled up like a beehive. But an invisible force held him fast, and he could not get near it. When he later came back with a friend, there was nothing left but an empty hole.
Matching hikes
- Rundwanderweg Bielatal
- Rundweg Schweizermühle – Ottomühle – Grenzplatte
- Herkulessäulen und Johanniswacht im Bielatal
As of: 09/2026
Keep asking TOURsten
TOURsten is happy to tell you more, find the right hike and plan your holiday day with you – free of charge and in seven languages.
Ask TOURsten