Suchý vrch (german: Dürrer Berg; pl, Suchy szczyt; 995 metres) is the highest ( double-peaked) mountain of the southern part of the

Orlické Mountains The Orlické Mountains ( cs, Orlické hory, pl, Góry Orlickie, german: Adlergebirge) or Eagle Mountains are a mountain range located mainly in northeastern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is a mesoregion of the Central Sudetes. They follow ...

in the Czech Republic. Located on the historical border between

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and Moravia, and right on trace where runs line of

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

of main European watershed ( Elbe – North Sea and Danube basin – Black Sea). A radio re-transmitter is situated on the top. The upper platform is used as a watchtower. The mountain is also a popular area for skiing.

History

. The first construction on the mountain was a simple cabin in 1925, as refuge for mountain hikers. In 1928, a mountain hotel was built after the design of architect Jaroslav Stejskal. It was called Kramářova chata ( Karel Kramář mountain hut) and had a concrete watchtower 28 metres high. After World War I, the rising nationalism within both the

Sudeten German German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

Tourist Association and its Czech-speaking rival, Klub českých turistů (Czech hikers club) prompted each group to attempt to outdo one another at each mountain peak, with facilities that accommodated hiker lodgings and watchtowers. This activity seemed to identify the Germans as pioneers of mountain tourism and the Czechs good learners. On 26 August 1937 he lunched where President Edvard Beneš as inspector supreme for the control of border defense fortification, against the aggression of Hitler. The ''Bradlo'' (''Klippe'') is a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

stone formation In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

in the Orlické hory mountain range of the Czech Republic, near the higher peak. In the Middle Ages, people feared the place, believing witches lived there. The area is home to many rare plants, so it is not open to the public. Rocks Bradlo.

Geology

The entire massif consists mainly of moldanubic, i.e. series of rocks generated during sedimentation in

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

sea and wrinkled later into

mountain chain A mountain chain is a row of high mountain summits, a linear sequence of interconnected or related mountains,Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, p 87. . or a contiguous ridge of mountains within a larger m ...

s and composed of crystalline

s and schicht gneiss (a metamorphic rock with foliations),

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

schicht and quartzite. Rocks in the syntectonic migmatite of the Orlické mountains create Suchý vrch shortly before the Precambrian period. The summit is round and smooth, with jagged edge nacked vertical rocks (Bradlo) no more than in height.

Flora

Summit is covered by

alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

, and all hill sides forested by spruce forest. Plants: False lily, fern bracken, western oakfern, and lot of bilberryes.

Climate

The average annual temperature is about 2,5 °C.

Watchtower

The observation tower and later re-transmitter was built in 1931–1932 by design of architect A. Patrmann. The Giant Mountains, Malá Fatra and Alps can be seen from the observation tower platform.

References

External links

Small-scale hiker map

Kramářova chata na Suchém vrchu

Stránky Správy CHKO Orlické hory

Watchtower on Suchý vrch (Czech)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suchy vrch Mountains and hills of the Czech Republic Ski areas and resorts in the Czech Republic