Jurkovičova tower

This wooden lookout tower on a stone plinth is located at an altitude of 480 meters on Charles Hill (also called Petřekovy stráně) above the Wallachian village in Rožnov pod radhoštěm, approximately 25 km northeast of Vsetín.

Its total height is 31 meters and the viewing platform is located at a height of 18.8 meters. You can look at it from 15.4. to 15.10. from 9 am to 5 pm.

This building is truly unique. It was built by the town of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm in 2009, based on sketches by the Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič, which have been preserved from his time. The architect lived in the years 1867-1947. The total construction costs amounted to 12.2 million, a substantial part of which was subsidies from the European Fund.

The drawings and color design were made by architect Antonín Závada st. And his colleagues from ARSTAV. It was necessary to make a detailed elaboration of a simple drawing of Jurkovič, which was made in 1896. Jurkoviš developed the project for Brno at the time near Valašské Meziříčí, but it was never implemented for financial reasons. The construction of the Jurkovič lookout tower was established in 2008 by a decision of the town hall in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm.

It was originally intended to build a lookout tower on the Hradisko hill, but this idea was later adopted for many reasons. On the one hand, it was only a small plot of land, which was also the subject of litigation. The surrounding areas were owned by Lesy ČR and, moreover, there was already a wooden lookout at that time. In addition, Hradisko is defined as an archaeological monument.

Charles Hill was therefore chosen as a suitable replacement. However, the construction had to be approved by the local Wallachian Open-Air Museum, the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area Administration and others. However, this was not a problem, so construction could begin. The lookout tower is built of one hundred years old wood. It is decorated with intricate, hand-forged elements of folk architecture. E.g. several plans and designs were made at the center. Upon its completion in 2011, several artifacts and objects were inserted into the dome of the lookout tower, such as information on the history of plans for the construction of the lookout tower, Wallachian slivovice, coins and the issue of Spektrum Rožnovska.

In the spring of 2012, several dozen trees were cut down in the vicinity of the lookout tower for a better view. The whole matter was investigated by the Czech Environmental Inspectorate, which, however, did not prove any mistakes. However, the current view is further obscured by trees, so they need to be felled, which is incompatible with the opinion of nature conservationists.

In February 2012, the lookout tower was approved and the grand opening took place on April 28, 2012. In the future, it is planned to modify the surroundings of the Jurkovič lookout tower into a forest park and other events, such as connecting the lookout tower to spa trails, etc.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová