Ještěd (; german: Jeschken) is the highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

of the

Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; cs, Ještědsko-kozákovský hřbet) is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region. Geomorphology Ještěd–Ko ...

in the north of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, at . It is the symbol of the city of

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...

. On the summit is the Ještěd Tower restaurant, hotel and television tower, designed by

Karel Hubáček Karel Hubáček (; 23 February 1924 – 25 November 2011) was a Czech architect who designed the Ještěd Tower and hotel atop the Ještěd mountain near Liberec. Hubáček's best known work was the Ještěd Tower, which was constructed bet ...

, accessible by road or cable car (

Ještěd Cable car Ještěd (; german: Jeschken) is the highest mountain of the Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge in the north of the Czech Republic, at . It is the symbol of the city of Liberec. On the summit is the Ještěd Tower restaurant, hotel and television tower, ...

). The mountain also has a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

. From the summit there are views to Germany and Poland.

Location

Ještěd is the highest mountain of the

within the Bohemian Massif. The eastern slopes and the summit lie in the municipal territory of

( Horní Hanychov part), the western slopes belong to the municipality of

Světlá pod Ještědem Světlá pod Ještědem is a municipality and village in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it ...

History

The origin of the mountain's name is uncertain, it is probably from the term

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

mountain, a once dominant tree species in the area. The Czech name for the mountain was first recorded in 1545 as ''Jesstied''. The German form of the name, Jeschke, was first mentioned in 1565. As far back as 1838 the summit hosted a crude stone that serves as a landmark to this day. The first hut on the summit was erected as early as 1844. In the 1860s, the mountain ridge was Station No. 4 of the first order of the

Royal Saxon triangulation Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

. For this reason a measuring station was built on the summit. In 1906, the Mountain Club, a mountain hotel, was built. The Jeschke Horní Hanychov cable car to the summit was opened in 1933. On 23 August 1940, at midnight, a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

from the Second (Lion) Squadron (german: Löwengeschwader) from Lüneburg crashed into the mountain near the summit and tore a long swathe in the woods. This accident killed the four crew. The old mountain hotel burned down in 1963. Between 1966 and 1973, a futuristic hotel, with a 100-metre-high television tower, was built that was designed by the architect,

. For the construction of the TV tower, Hubáček was awarded the Auguste Perret Prize. The modern building acts as an observation tower, transmission tower, hotel and restaurant. In 2009, an element of the Nordic World Ski Championships took place on Ještěd.

The ski jumping hills

In Ještěd there are two ski jumping hills, The World Championships 2009 were hosted there. The K-134 and the K-90.

Roman Koudelka Roman Koudelka (; born 9 July 1989) is a Czech ski jumper. Career Koudelka's first world cup start was in Kuusamo on 24 November 2006. He finished in 31st position. He ended the season 39th in the world cup standings with 87 points. The fol ...

has the hill record in the K-134, with 143 metres. Anssi Koivuranta jumped 106.5 metres in the K-90, which is the hill record on this hill.

References

External links

Geographical info about the mountain

Ještěd Hotel

Ještěd sport webpage

Ski klub Ještěd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jested Mountains and hills of the Czech Republic One-thousanders of the Czech Republic Ski areas and resorts in the Czech Republic Mountain peaks of the Sudetes Observation towers in the Czech Republic Liberec District