History of the tower

Amazing view of the Ještěd Ridge, the Bohemian Paradise, the Giant Mountains and the Jizera Mountains

How the building was built on the 667 m high Kopanina hill

The Kopanina lookout tower was built on the hill of the same name on the border of the Bohemian Paradise and the Jizera Mountains in 1894. The construction was realized by the Czech Tourist Club according to the project of Ing. František Duba from Turnov. The idea to build a lookout tower on the 667-metre high Kopanina Hill was given to the Turnov branch of the KČT as early as 1892. He bought the necessary land and managed to collect over three thousand gold coins, for which he realized the construction. The construction of the tower was entrusted to Mr. Knop from Turnov and the foundation stone was laid on 29 October 1893. The lookout tower was completed the following spring and then opened in June 1894. At the time of its opening, the tower measured 18 metres and had an unroofed battlements at its top.

The stone lookout tower offered a magnificent view to all sides of the world, and on the then almost unforested hill it was possible to see the Jested Ridge, the Bohemian Paradise and its dominant feature Trosky Castle, Kozákov Hill and the Malá Skála region below it, and finally the Krkonoše and Jizera Mountains with the Black Well. The Czech Tourist Club was well aware of the amazing view offered by the Kopanina peak, but it also realized the construction with the aim of creating an imaginary "guard post" between the then northern, mostly German-speaking border area and the southern "Czech" area around the Jizera River and the continuing inland.

The grand opening of the tower took place on Sunday, 3 June. It was attended by several hundred visitors and invited guests from the surrounding area and from Prague, where a special train carrying delegates from the central and other KČT departments departed. It is said that on the very first day of the opening more than 400 people ascended the tower and the total sales reached 20 gold coins.

For several years after its opening, the lookout tower was called "Paclt's" - after Čeněk Paclt, an enthusiastic Turnov tourist promoter. However, this name did not catch on with the public and eventually the name after Kopanina Hill, on which the tower stands, won out.

In 1936, the tower gained a few extra metres and was given a glass extension and roof, which has been preserved in the same form to this day. The current height of the tower is 21 metres. After the Second World War, the tower was taken care of by the TJ Sokol Frýdštejn and in 1956 the tower was transferred to the municipal authority (MNV Frýdštejn), in whose care it has been ever since. In the last twenty years, regular maintenance of the tower has been carried out and partial and necessary reconstructions have been carried out.

We believe that the Kopanina lookout tower will remain a popular and well-maintained tourist destination in the Malá Skála region, Bohemian Paradise and the Jizera Mountains.

Source:

http://www.wikirozhledny.cz/rozhledna/kopanina
http://www.hrady.cz/index.php?OID=1262
http://rozhledny2.webzdarma.cz/kopanina.htm
http://cs.wikipedia.org