Why come here
A stop on the way from Pustevny
A quarter of an hour from Pustevny, a few hundred metres before the Radegast statue. A covered lookout from 1894 - the oldest surviving Pohorská jednota Radhošť building on the ridge.
Lookout pavilion • 1894 • the ridge above Pustevny
The Cyrilka lookout pavilion
A wooden pavilion with an onion dome on the ridge path to Radegast.
built in
1894
the ridge belonged to the association
1908–1950
from Pustevny
500 m / 15 min
protection
cultural monument
The oldest Pohorská jednota Radhošť building on the ridge
A short way from Pustevny, just off the ridge path to the Radegast statue, the Cyrilka lookout pavilion has stood since 1894. It was built by Pohorská jednota Radhošť - the first Czech hiking association in Austria-Hungary.
It is freely accessible all year round.
When to go
In clear weather
The lookout pavilion is open all year and free of charge. When visibility is good you can see as far as Slovakia.
Not to be missed
The panorama map
Inside there is a panorama map of the view on a metal plate - a more durable replacement for the original wooden one.
The story of Pohorská jednota Radhošť
The ridge that walkers bought
Pohorská jednota Radhošť
How an association bought up a whole ridge
The hiking association Pohorská jednota Radhošť (PJR) was founded in 1884 by two Frenštát natives, Štěpán Ježíšek and Eduard Parma, “out of love for mountainous Moravian Wallachia”. It was the first Czech hiking association in Austria-Hungary, four years older than the Prague-based Klub českých turistů. Its aim was clear: to make the mountains of Moravian Wallachia easier to visit, to foster affection for them and to contribute to their scientific study.
Before the association could build, it first had to buy land. In 1886 it bought a plot by the by then ruined hermitage from the fojtka Apolena Malinová - and went on buying, until by 1908 it owned the whole mountain ridge from Tanečnice to the Cyrilka pavilion.
Pohorská jednota Radhošť built a whole series of buildings on that land: the Pústevňa shelter (1891), the stone Šumná, and Jurkovič's Maměnka and Libušín. The Cyrilka pavilion belongs to the same series, built in 1894 at a place called Stupně.
The association owned the ridge for forty-two years. After February 1948 the sports and physical-education organisations were merged into a single body, and in June 1950 the PJR ceased to operate - its property was taken over by Československé hotely. The association was revived only forty years later, in 1990. The PJR never got the ridge back.
There was a whole series of lookouts
Metodějka is gone, Cyrilka remains
Lookouts were among the first things the association built: two went up as early as 1885–1886 on the Horečky hills above Frenštát, before the land at Pustevny was even bought. Others followed - Cyrilka, Libušínka and, in 1897, Metodějka on nearby Okrouhlé.
Metodějka later disappeared, and Cyrilka lost its counterpart with it: Metodějka carried the name of the second of the missionaries, the same pair commemorated a few years later by the chapel on the summit of Radhošť.
Inside the Cyrilka pavilion is a panorama map of the view on a metal plate - a more durable replacement for the original wooden one. In clear weather you can see down into the valley of Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, and out to Štramberská Trúba, the Palkovické hůrky hills, Pustevny, the Beskid ridges, Lysá hora and, with a little luck, Slovakia.
Timeline
How the ridge passed to walkers - and away from them again
From the founding of the association through the buying up of the whole ridge to its loss in 1950.
1884
The PJR is founded
Pohorská jednota Radhošť is founded in Frenštát as the first Czech hiking association in Austria-Hungary.
1886
The first plot at Pustevny
The association buys a plot by the ruined hermitage from the fojtka Apolena Malinová. More land purchases follow.
What was built on that plot1894
The association builds the Cyrilka pavilion
Cyrilka stands at a place called Stupně. It is still the oldest surviving PJR building on the ridge.
1897
Metodějka on Okrouhlé
A sister lookout on nearby Okrouhlé - it no longer stands.
1908
The whole ridge belongs to the association
After further purchases the PJR owns the whole mountain ridge from Tanečnice to Cyrilka.
1950
The association closes and loses its property
After February 1948 the associations are merged; in June 1950 the PJR ceases to operate and its property is taken over by Československé hotely.
1990
The association is revived
Right after the Velvet Revolution, forty years on, the PJR resumes its work - but it does not get the ridge back.
Visit
Plan your way to the pavilion
Where exactly
Just off the ridge path above Pustevny
From the car park at Pustevny it is about 500 metres and a quarter of an hour on foot along the ridge path towards the Radegast statue. The pavilion stands a short way off it, on a short side path.
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The pavilion and the area around Pustevny
Getting here
You set off from Pustevny. The ridge path leads from there to the pavilion - the last stretch along a short side path.
- 1
The Cyrilka lookout paviliondestination · you are here
You reach the pavilion along the ridge path and a short side path in just under a quarter of an hour. On the way, about 250 metres before it, you pass the turning to the entrance of Cyrilka Cave - the same name, a different story.
- →
Onward: along the ridge to the Radegast statue~650 m
The ridge path carries on to the Radegast statue and to Radhošť with its chapel.
Before you set out
Opening
Accessible all year, free of charge.
The best view
In clear weather - mist and low cloud hide the view.
The nearest facilities
Refreshments and toilets are at Pustevny, a few minutes' walk away.
Na závěr
Doplňující info a test znalostí
Rychlá rekapitulace
Is the Cyrilka lookout pavilion the same thing as a lookout tower?
No. Although it is often searched for as “rozhledna Cyrilka”, it is a pavilion without a tower or stairs - a covered lookout on a stone base. The view is from ridge level.
Who built the pavilion and where exactly does it stand?
It was built in 1894 by Pohorská jednota Radhošť, the first Czech hiking association in Austria-Hungary. It stands at a place called Stupně on the ridge above Pustevny.
Is the Cyrilka pavilion the oldest building in the Pustevny area?
It is the oldest surviving Pohorská jednota Radhošť building on the ridge. The Pústevňa shelter (1891) in the Pustevny saddle was older - but the saddle and the ridge are two different places.
Is the pavilion freely accessible?
Yes, all year and free of charge. It is also a protected cultural monument.
How is the Cyrilka pavilion related to Cyrilka Cave?
Only by name. The cave lies about 250 m from the pavilion.
What was Metodějka?
A sister lookout built by Pohorská jednota Radhošť in 1897 on nearby Okrouhlé. It no longer stands. The association had a whole series of lookouts - two on the Horečky hills, Cyrilka, Metodějka, Libušínka and others.
Závěrečný kvíz
Otázka 1 z 5
What is the Cyrilka pavilion?
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Where next
Where the story continues
The pavilion is just one stop on the ridge between Pustevny and Radhošť.
The same name, a different story
Cyrilka Cave
The cave entrance lies about 250 m from the pavilion, but nobody built it - the ridge slid apart. Only the name connects them.
Přejít na stránku →Onward along the ridge
The Radegast statue
About 650 metres from the pavilion stands Albín Polášek's monumental statue of the pagan god Radegast.
Přejít na stránku →
The starting point
Pustevny
The car park, the chairlift, the bus and Jurkovič's lodges - the logistics of the walk are handled by the Pustevny saddle, only a few hundred metres from the pavilion.
Přejít na stránku →