Sněžka

Sněžka
Śnieżka, Schneekoppe
Sněžka from the west.
Elevation	1,603 m (5,259 ft)^[1]
Prominence	1,203 m (3,947 ft)^[1]
Listing	Country high point
Location
Sněžka Location in the Czech Republic, on the border with Poland
Location	Czech Republic and Poland
Range	Krkonoše
Coordinates	50°44′10″N 15°44′25″E / 50.73611°N 15.74028°E / 50.73611; 15.74028Coordinates: 50°44′10″N 15°44′25″E / 50.73611°N 15.74028°E / 50.73611; 15.74028
Climbing
Easiest route	tourist trails, cable car from Pec pod Sněžkou

Sněžka or Śnieżka (in Czech and Polish, Schneekoppe in German) is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, the most prominent point of the Silesian Ridge in the Krkonoše mountains. At 1,603 metres (5,259 ft), its summit is the highest point in the Czech Republic, in the Krkonoše and in the entire Sudetes range system.

History

Sněžka in 1900

View from the summit of Sněžka

The first historical account of an ascent to the peak is in 1456, by an unknown Venetian merchant searching for precious stones. The first settlements on the mountain soon appeared, being primarily mining communities, tapping into its deposits of copper, iron and arsenic. The mining shafts, totalling 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in length, remain to this day.

The first recorded German name was Riseberg ("giant mountain", cf. Riesengebirge, "Giant Mountains"), mentioned by Georg Agricola in 1546. Fifteen years later the name Riesenberg appears on Martin Hellwig's map of Silesia. The German name later changed to Riesenkoppe ("giant top") and finally to Schneekoppe ("snow top", "snowy head"^[2]).

In Czech, the mountain was initially called Pahrbek Sněžný. Later Sněžka, with the eventual name Sněžovka, meaning "snowy" or "snow covered", which was adopted in 1823. An older Polish name for the mountain was Góra Olbrzymia, meaning "giant mountain".^[3]

The first building on the mountaintop was the chapel of Saint Lawrence (Laurentiuskapelle), built ca. 1665–1681 by the Silesian Schaffgotsch family to mark their dominion, serving also as an inn for a brief period of time. The territory including the mines were the property of the Schaffgotsch family until 1945. The so-called Prussian hut was built on the Silesian (now Polish) side in 1850, followed by the Bohemian hut on the Bohemian (now Czech) side in 1868, both built with the purpose of providing lodging. The Prussian hut was rebuilt twice after fires (1857 and 1862), and the (after 1945) "Polish hut" was finally demolished in 1967. The Bohemian hut fell into disrepair after 1990 and was demolished in 2004.

A wooden weather station was built on the mountaintop ca. 1900, being the only weather station in Central Europe remaining intact after World War II. It was demolished in the 1980s.

The mountain today

The Polish meteo observatory, 2006.

One side of the mountain is in Czech Republic; the other belongs to the Poland. The area is very popular in summer with tourists from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany who enjoy hiking in the alpine environment one of a kind to this location.

On the Polish side a disc-shaped observatory and restaurant was built in 1974, a weather station and the St. Lawrence chapel. On the Czech side are the remains of the Bohemian hut, a post office, and a chairlift station, connecting the peak with the town of Pec pod Sněžkou at the base of the mountain.

Although the mountain is the highest natural peak of Czech Republic, the actual highest point is the top of the television transmitter on Praděd, reaching 1,652 metres (1,491+162 m). If the Polish observatory is taken into account, Sněžka peaks at 1,620 metres.

In 2004 a new post office and observation platform replaced an old post office and the remains of the Bohemian hut, which was closed since the 1980s.

In March 2009 the Polish observatory suffered serious damage to the upper disc as a result of extreme weather and structural failure. The upper disc's floor broke. Fast response from Technical University of Wrocław saved the remaining disc from taking any further damage. The restaurant and meteo offices were reopened soon after the construction team had finished clearing the debris and securing what was left of the observatory. After detailed expertise it was decided that no further damage should occur and the building was restored to its previous state.

Old chairlift to the top of Sněžka was replaced by a new cable car system. Since February 2014, the four-person cabins in two sections export 250 visitors per hour from the Czech city Pec pod Sněžkou.^[4]