Praděd (; ; ; literally " great grandfather") () is the highest mountain of the Hrubý Jeseník mountains,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

Czech Silesia Czech Silesia (; ) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. While it currently has no formal boundaries, in a narrow geographic sense, it encompasses most or all of the territory of the Czech Republic within the ...

and

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

and is the fifth-highest mountain 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 ...

. The highest point of Moravia is located near the summit of Praděd; but the summit itself is in

. The average annual temperature is about . A television transmitter is situated on the top, high. The upper platform is used as a watchtower. The mountain is also a popular area for

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

History

The first building on the mountain was a stone watchtower, high. It was built in 1903–1912 by the Sudeten German tourist association. After 1945, the tourist association no longer existed because all Germans were expelled. Due to its unmaintained condition in communist

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, with water freezing in cracks breaking it up, the watchtower collapsed 2 May 1959 shortly before it was supposed to get fixed. The ''Petrovy kameny'' ("Peter's stones") is a

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

stone formation near the peak. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, people feared the place, believing

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

es lived there. The area is home to many rare plants, so it is not open to the public. The transmitter was built between 1968 and 1983. A restaurant is located in the building and can be reached by a paved road. The

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains (; ; ,'' Vysoki Tatry''; ; ), are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. They are a range of the Tatra Mountains ...

, Malá Fatra Mts. and

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

can be seen from the watchtower platform.

1950 air accident

On 27 February 1950 at 07:31 Československé státní aerolinie Douglas C-47A-15-DK on its way from

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

-Hrabůvka Airport to Prague Ruzyně Airport crashed into the side of Praděd mountain, killing 3 crew and 3 passengers. 25 others, including 21 passengers and 4 crew survived the accident.

Protection of nature

Praděd lies in the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area. The area of the peak and its surroundings is also specially protected as the Praděd National Nature Reserve. The protection was declared on 4 June 1955. With an area of , it is the largest national nature reserve in the country.

Fauna and flora

The most important plant species that grow here are '' Poa riphaea'', '' Campanula gelida'', '' Plantago atrata'' subsp. ''sudetica'', '' Dianthus carthusianorum'' subsp. ''sudeticus'', and '' Carlina biebersteinii'' subsp. ''sudetica''. Among the fauna, the rarest are the butterflies '' Erebia sudetica'' subsp. ''sudetica'', '' Erebia epiphron'' subsp. ''silesiana'', '' Sparganothis rubicundana'', and '' Epichnopterix sieboldii''.

Climate

Praděd is located within the

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...

zone (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''ETH'').

Historical data

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Praded Mountains and hills of the Czech Republic Ski areas and resorts in the Czech Republic National nature reserves in the Czech Republic