Somehow we were tempted to visit the TV tower. What I didn't know was that it seemed to be a very special building and also had a very excellent car park with the best view in store for us. Because towards evening, the car park emptied and we were almost alone to spend the night at the top of the mountain.
A long time ago, in 1963 to be precise, there was already an observation tower on the mountain. But it was destroyed by fire. After that, the idea arose to build something new and modern. Architect Karel Hubáček had a great idea: a building that would be both a hotel and a lookout tower. Many people liked his plan, and so the construction of the new tower began in 1966.
But not everything went smoothly. Political problems in 1968 delayed the construction. Nevertheless, construction continued, even though some people did not like the tower and criticised it.
Karel Hubáček, the man behind the tower, did not always have it easy. Because of his architectural idiosyncrasies, he was declared persona non grata and was not allowed to attend the opening ceremony on 21 October 1973. Somehow this reminds me of my youth in the GDR. Special paths weren't so cool then! (And I knew enough about the special paths - my goodness, I'm glad that the turnaround came at the right time).
Meanwhile, Ještěd has become a landmark of the region. As planned, it houses a hotel, a restaurant and, of course, serves as a broadcasting tower. The unique hyperboloid construction (whatever that is!) of the tower complements the silhouette of the mountain and is perceived from afar as a natural unity with the mountain.
In the meantime, after the fall of so-called communism, the building received numerous awards, including the Auguste Perret Prize of the Union Internationale des Architectes, and was declared a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
Did the architect notice all this? We think so, because he only died in 2011!
In the car park we talked for a while with a couple from Zittau (oh, the dialect alone, wonderful!) and they showed me a page of the Super-Illu, which reported on the TV tower. Here is a paragraph by a text artist with a lot of imagination:
Beautiful like Starship Enterprise
Its futuristic design has lost none of its elegance...
...when entering the restaurant on the ground floor, many visitors run the risk of falling into cosmic rapture. Many of the furnishings, such as glasses, plates and lamps, but also the spiral staircase leading up to the hotel (20 rooms) on the second floor, seem to be inspired by timeless space aesthetics...
...The spaceship feeling is enhanced not least by the fact that the windows in their polished steel frames cannot be opened - but a ventilation system gently rustles...
Super-Illu 2023
Any questions? As we entered the restaurant, I felt the glamour of days gone by, perhaps the whole thing reminded me of Erich's lamp shop, or as it was officially called: Palace of the Republic. This trip will be a trip to my socialist past now and then, I suspect. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, Gerd is just amazed and highly interested!
Well, that could be something!
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
Do you think our travel experiences might be of interest to others? Then you can share the Share post quietly. By e-mail or however you want to do it.
In addition, if you haven't already done so, you can use our Newsletter subscribe. Here you will receive all our experiences in your mailbox whenever we publish something new or once a week on Fridays: live-pur.ch/newsletter
We are also very happy to hear your views, your tips or your questions. Just comment on the post!
