The wooden Bastei bridge (1826) Memorial tablet on a rock by the Bastei bridge The Bastei around 1900 View of the Elbe and the Wartturm rocks

The name Bastei ("bastion") refers to the inclusion of steep, towering rocks in the old defensive ring around Neurathen Castle. The rocks were first mentioned as Pastey in 1592 by Matthias Oeder during the first state survey by the Electorate of Saxony. As the region of Saxon Switzerland was explored and developed for tourism, the Bastei became one of its first tourist attractions. The lookout point was first referred to in travel literature in 1798 in a publication by Christian August Gottlob Eberhard. One of the first walking guides who took visitors to the Bastei was Carl Heinrich Nicolai, who wrote in 1801: "What depth of feeling it pours into the soul! You can stand here for a long time without being finished with it (…) it is so difficult to tear yourself away from this spot."

The Bastei was only readily accessible from Wehlen and Lohmen with numerous artists reaching the Bastei over the so-called Painter's Path, the Malerweg. Caspar David Friedrich painted his famous picture Felsenpartie im Elbsandsteingebirge ("Rocks in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains") based on the Bastei. Ludwig Richter also sketched the Bastei. From Rathen, access was more difficult; but in 1814 a staircase with 487 steps was built that climbed out of the Wehlgrund valley past the Vogeltelle to the rocks.

At Pentecost in 1812, the Lohmen butcher, Pietzsch, started the first catering services for visitors to the Bastei. From two simple huts he sold bread, butter, beer, brandy, coffee, and milk. Two years later a kitchen and a cellar were built below one of the rock overhangs and the lookout point was fitted with a railing. In February 1816, Pietzsch was given a license to sell spirits; the modest huts he had built were destroyed in a fire in September of the same year. In June 1819, August von Goethe reported: "Friendly huts and good service with coffee, double beer, spirits and fresh bread and butter really revived the tired wanderer ...".[1] In 1820, the spirit license was granted to the Rathen judge (Erblehnrichter), Schedlich.

The development of the Bastei was given a significant boost in 1826. That year the first inn building with overnight accommodations was built based on plans by Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer. From that point on, the old huts acted as night quarters for the walking guides. The first bridge, called Bastei Bridge (Basteibrücke), was built of wood over the deep clefts of the Mardertelle, linking the outer rock shelf of the Bastei with the Steinschleuder and Neurathener Felsentor rocks. In 1851, due to the steady increase in visitors, the wooden bridge was replaced by a sandstone bridge, which is still standing today. It is 76.5 m long and its seven arches span a ravine 40 m deep.

By the end of the 19th century, the Bastei had become the main attraction of Saxon Switzerland. The inn was completely converted and extended in 1893/94. A high-pressure water main was run to the building in 1895 and a telephone line followed in 1897. Around 1900, plans were made for the construction of a mountain railway from the Elbe Valley to the Bastei, but the railway was never built. Even today a ravine southwest of the Bastei is known as the Eisenbahngründel ("Little Railway Valley"). At the beginning of the 20th century, the Bastei road was widened to handle the growing automobile traffic.

After 1945 the number of visitors increased sharply again, especially on weekends and public holidays, as the Bastei became a popular tourist destination. Between 1975 and 1979 the former inn was replaced by a large new building, later a hotel.