The Stoličná hora (also ''Kvádrovec, Kvádrberk'', German: ''Quaderberg'') is a

table hill A tableland is an area containing elevated landforms characterized by a distinct, flat, nearly level, or gently undulating surface. They often exhibit steep, cliff-like edges, known as escarpments, that separate them from surrounding lowlands. ...

near

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

(''Tetschen'') in the

Bohemian Switzerland Bohemian Switzerland (; ), also known as Czech Switzerland, is a nature region in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the northwestern Czech Republic, protected as a national park. It has been a protected area (as Elbe Sandstone Mountains Protected ...

in 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 ...

Location and area

The Stoličná hora rises immediately north of the town of Děčín. The west flank of the hill runs down to the

River Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

, which here at the Stoličná hora enters its deeply incised, narrow valley through the

Elbe Sandstone Mountains The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands (, ; , ), are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-q ...

. To the north, the hill is bounded by the Lauben Gorge in which the ''Loubsky potok'', coming from the direction of

Ludvíkovice Ludvíkovice () is a municipality and village in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. Ludvíkovice lies approximately north-east of Děčín, north-east of Ústí nad Labem, and n ...

(''Loosdorf''), flows down into the Elbe. On the south side of the hill plateau is an observation point known as the Emperor's View (''Kaiseraussicht'' or ''Císařský výhled''). On the Elbe, below the steep, rocky hillside lies the small village of Loubí (''Laube'') which is part of Děčín and the extensive facilities of the Elbe port of Loubí. In the ''Quaderberg Tunnel'' the Děčín vychod–Děčín- Prostřední Žleb section of the railway line, once part of the former Austrian Northwestern Railway, cuts through the southwest flank of the hill.

History

The first known treks up the Quaderberg are mentioned as early as 1828. When the hill was made more accessible in 1864 by Leopold Strnad, it was called the Leopold Heights (''Leopoldshöhe''). In 1870 the first restaurant opened here. The silver wedding of the Austrian emperor and empress in 1879 was the occasion of the erection of a sandstone column on the southern aspect of the hill which was named Emperor's View (''Kaiseraussicht''). In 1890 the pavilion known as ''Elbwarte'' ("Elbe Lookout") was built. A rest stop from 1900 was called the ''Karolinenfels''. After 1945 the restaurant was torn down.

Views

From the Emperor's View there is a picturesque view over the basin of Děčín as far as the heights of the nearby

Central Bohemian Uplands The Central Bohemian Uplands (also known as Central Bohemian Highlands; , ) is a highland and Geomorphological division of the Czech Republic, geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Ústí nad Labem Region. ...

. This is one of the best viewing points in Bohemian Switzerland.

Ascents

* The ''red'' signposted main hiking trail in Bohemian Switzerland runs over the Quaderberg; coming from Děčín and heading over the crest of Rosenkamm to

Hřensko Hřensko () is a municipality and village in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants. With an elevation of above sea level, it is the lowest situated municipality in the country. Located ...

(''Herrnskretschen'').

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolicna Hora Mountains and hills of Bohemian Switzerland Děčín