Ještěd Lookout tower

Atop Ještěd Hill stands a building whose silhouette is recognized by almost every Czech – it appears in the logo of the city of Liberec, in the emblem of the region, the symbol of the local university, and even that of the top-flight football club Slovan Liberec. This hotel and television transmitter, shaped like a rotating hyperboloid, was constructed between 1966 and 1973 according to the design of architect Karl Hubáček. The building reaches nearly 100 meters in height and has a circular footprint with a diameter of 33 meters. Its appearance was also designed by Zdeněk Patořina and Zdeněk Žachar (structural engineering) and Otakar Binar (interior).

However, Ještěd had been waiting for tourism long before that. Since the mid-19th century, an older hotel stood here, which was gradually replaced by other buildings. The history began even earlier – around 1844, soldiers from Liberec started coming on excursions here and soon after, the first entrepreneurs appeared. In 1847, the Hasler couple from Horní Hanychov obtained permission to build a wooden hut, which they later replaced with a stone shelter. Gradually, their inn expanded with an annex built in 1885 by the German Alpine Club (DGV), which became the owner of the entire property from 1909 onwards. Interest from visitors at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries exceeded all capacities – up to 40,000 people visited the peak annually. Therefore, between 1905 and 1906, DGV constructed a new "Ještěd House" based on designs by Ernst Schäfer with 23 rooms, dormitories, and a large hall.

After World War II, the owner became the Club of Czech Tourists. From 1959, the hut was also used for television broadcasting – initially as experimental transmission from January 24th, then regular operation starting May 1st. However, this story ended tragically. On January 31, 1963, a fire broke out during the thawing of water pipes, completely destroying the building. Firefighters, with equipment transported by cable car to the site, could not save it. A year later, the original Rohanova hut also burned down; at that time, it was being used as emergency accommodation for workers clearing up after the first fire.

It was these disasters that led to the decision to build a modern, durable facility. The hyperboloid structure we see today represented architectural and engineering mastery of its time. The building is not only memorable in tourism but also in Czech cinema – it appears in the film documentary Grandhotel. Since 1998, Ještěd has been protected as a cultural monument, and since 2006, even as a national cultural monument. From 2007, it has been listed on the Indicative List of Cultural Properties of the Czech Republic, from which buildings are selected for nomination to UNESCO's World Heritage list.