The
Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the
Elbe sandstone highlands (; ) is a mountain range straddling the border between the state of
Saxony in southeastern
Germany and the North
Bohemian region of the
Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side. The mountains are also referred to as
Saxon Switzerland and
Bohemian Switzerland in both German and Czech (
Sächsische Schweiz and
Böhmische Schweiz in German,
Saské Švýcarsko and
Ceské Švýcarsko in Czech) or simply combined as Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland. In both countries, the mountain range has been declared a national park. The name derives from the
sandstone which was carved by erosion. The river
Elbe breaks through the mountain range in a steep and narrow valley.