Praděd

Praděd is the highest Moravian mountain. It rises at an altitude of 1491 meters and from the local transmitter with a viewing platform with a total height of 162 meters, visitors have a truly magnificent view.

The viewing platform is located at a height of 73 meters and can only be reached by lift.
The easiest way here is probably by bus, from Karlova Studánka or Hvězda, where there is a parking lot. There is also a bus from here, regularly every hour, both up and down. The journey takes a few minutes, it will cost you a few crowns and you will be brought to Ovčárna, which is a tourist cottage, from where you can follow the red tourist sign to Praděd. The road is about 3.5 km long, it is an asphalt road, so you do not have to worry about steep terrain.

Another option is to drive to Ovčárna, which is more convenient, but more expensive. If you are staying at Ovčárna, they will arrange a transfer to Praděd by snowmobile in winter.

The opening hours at Praděd are based on the time when the local restaurant is open, which is every day from 9 am to 6 pm. Admission to the viewing platform costs 60 CZK for an adult.

With good visibility, you can see Lysá hora, Radhošť and even Sněžka from Praděd. If you are really lucky and the weather is good, you can also see the High Tatras and the Little Fatra or even the Austrian Low Alps.

The transmitter, which stands today on the highest mountain of Hrubý Jeseník, is of course not the first local building. It was preceded by a modest shelter from the 19th century, used for travelers, using it in bad weather. It was called a protective hut, and although a simple building was later added to it, it was not enough for the requirements of that time.
The stone lookout tower, built in 1904-12, was designed by Franz von Neumann and commissioned by the Moravian-Silesian Mountain Association. The construction took eight years, mainly due to lack of funds. Other problems awaited the so-called Habsburg Tower during the approval, which did not pass due to poorly chosen material. The tower then measured 32.5 meters and access to it was allowed despite these circumstances.

Security reasons then forced the tower to close only in 1923, when repairs were also carried out here. After their end, in 1926, a campfire and fireworks were held here, and this tradition, repeated every three years, lasted until 1938. At that time, the tower was already called Altvaterwarte.

After the war, the tower fell into disrepair, as its then administrator was German and after 1945 it disappeared. In an effort to reconstruct it, Turista Praha n.p .. came in 1951. His plan was to restore the tower to its original condition, but it collapsed in 1959, the day before the reconstruction began.
The construction of the transmitter was started in 1970. Due to easier access, an asphalt road leading from Ovčárna was created here in 1968. The newly built transmitter was supposed to resemble a spaceship at launch, and the date of completion of the reconstruction was set for 1977. However, these plans were affected by unfavorable climatic conditions, and so the construction lasted until the mid-1980s. A new restaurant was also opened here in 1983, and in the mid-1990s a new observation deck.

The Praděd project was prepared by Jan Liška from Stavoprojekt in Brno. The tower is supported by three wings. In the first there is an energy node, the second serves radio communications and in the third there is a restaurant. At present, the transmitter at Praděd is owned by České radiokomunikace Praha a.s.

The curious fact is that the top of the tower rises to a height of 1653 meters above sea level, which has earned it the title of the highest point in the Czech Republic.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová