Ještěd (; ) 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 area, and is usually higher t ...

of the

Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; ) 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–Kozákov Ridge is a mesoregion of th ...

in the north of the

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

, at . It is the symbol of the city of

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

. On the summit is the

Ještěd Tower Ještěd Tower () is a television transmitter on top of Mount Ještěd near Liberec in the Czech Republic. Measuring , it is made of reinforced concrete shaped in a "hyperboloid" form. The tower was designed by architect Karel Hubáček, w ...

restaurant, hotel and television tower, designed by Karel Hubáček, accessible by road or cable car ( Ještěd cable car). 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 Am ...

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

Etymology

The name was probably derived from the connection of the Old German words ''ask'' and ''ket'', meaning " ash hill" or "ash forest". The Slavic name was created by gradual distortion. The Czech name for the mountain was first recorded in 1545 as ''Jesstied''. The German form of the name, Jeschken, was first mentioned in 1565.

Location

Ještěd is the highest mountain of the

within the

Bohemian Massif The Bohemian Massif ( or ''Český masiv'', or ''Böhmisches Massiv'') is a geomorphological province in Central Europe. It is a large massif stretching over most of the Czech Republic, eastern Germany, southern Poland and northern Austria. Th ...

. 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.

History

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. 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 medium 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 a ...

from the Second (Lion) Squadron () from

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

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, Karel Hubáček. 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 jumping, 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 po ...

has the hill record in the K-134, with 143 metres.

Anssi Koivuranta Anssi Einar Koivuranta (born 3 July 1988) is a retired Finnish ski jumping, ski jumper and former Nordic combined skier, best known for winning the 2008–09 FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. He won the gold medal in the 4 × 5 km tea ...

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 Liberec District