Lookout tower • Karlův kopec • Rožnov pod Radhoštěm
A tower built from a design that waited 116 years for its builders.
A wooden lookout tower has stood on Karlův kopec above Valašské muzeum v přírodě since 2012. It follows a sketch by Dušan Samo Jurkovič from 1896, and was built 116 years later.
A short climb from the car park at the open-air museum brings you to the entrance. From the platform there is a view of the town, of Radhošť and of the whole Rožnovská brázda basin.
Why come here
The tower was built to a design by Dušan Samo Jurkovič from 1896, though the building work only happened in 2010–2011. It is 31 metres tall, made of hand-worked timber and stone, in the same colours as Jurkovič's buildings at Pustevny.
When to come
The tower is open seasonally, from April to October, and exceptionally at Easter and at the end of the year. Current opening times are on www.visitroznov.cz.
What you can see
From the platform you can see Radhošť, the centre of Rožnov, Vigantice and Hutisko-Solanec, and the villages in the western part of the Rožnovská brázda basin.
A design from 1896 that waited more than a hundred years to be built – from Jurkovič's sketch, worked up into detailed design documentation.
An unbuilt design
The architect Dušan Samo Jurkovič designed a lookout tower in 1896 for a hiking club from Valašské Meziříčí. It was to stand on the hill Brdo in the cadastre of Brňov, today a district of Valašské Meziříčí. The club never found the money to build it, and the design was left lying.
This was the time when Jurkovič was still forming the distinctive style he drew from folk architecture. A few years later the lodges Libušín and Maměnka went up to his designs at nearby Pustevny, today his best-known buildings.
A hundred years on
A century later Jurkovič's sketch was found in the archive of Valašské muzeum v přírodě by the Rožnov ethnographer and town councillor Daniel Drápala. The town leadership decided to build it – the architect Antonín Závada prepared the complete construction documentation from it. The hill Hradisko was considered first, but ownership questions and the archaeological survey it would have needed put an end to that. In the end the tower was built on Karlův kopec, right beside the grounds of the open-air museum.
Building work began in October 2010. The shell was finished in December 2011, and on 28 April 2012 the tower opened to visitors.
It differs from Jurkovič's original design only in small details, needed to meet today's building regulations. The tower is 31.09 metres tall, the viewing platform sits at 18.8 metres, and 102 steps lead up to it.
Craft
The tower combines two materials: dressed stone and traditionally worked, carved timber. The load-bearing elements are oak, the rest spruce and fir. Altogether 200 m³ of round timber went into it.
The blacksmithing and tinsmithing, and most of the carpentry, were done by hand, by old methods that are barely used today. The colours match Jurkovič's buildings at Pustevny. The same hand links the tower with Libušín and Maměnka.
The designer
Dušan Samo Jurkovič (1868–1947) was an architect, furniture designer and ethnographer. His style is known today as folk Art Nouveau – it joined Art Nouveau ornament with motifs of Carpathian folk architecture. You can recognise it by the deep colours, the carved timber and the shingle roofs. In Wallachia he left behind the lodges Libušín and Maměnka at Pustevny. More than a hundred years later, the lookout tower above the Rožnov open-air museum was built to his design and now carries his name.
Timeline
Four dates with more than a century between them.
1896
The architect Dušan Samo Jurkovič designs a lookout tower for a hiking club – it was to stand on the hill Brdo near Valašské Meziříčí.
2010
In October work starts on Karlův kopec above the Rožnov open-air museum, to Závada's documentation, worked up from Jurkovič's sketch and adjusted to current regulations.
2011
The shell is finished in December. The load-bearing elements are oak, the rest spruce and fir; some 200 m³ of round timber went into it.
28 April 2012
The tower opens to the public and soon becomes one of the landmarks of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm.
green waymarks · ~30 min
From the car park at the open-air museum over the wooden footbridge above it, then uphill along the green waymarks to the tower. The main and shortest way up.
Park at the museum and carry on from there on foot. On holidays and at weekends the car park tends to be full – come early.
the town park · a longer way
A heritage trail runs through the Rožnov park, linking the story of the spa era and ending at the tower. It turns the walk into a guided one.
seasonally 1 May – 30 September
In season you can walk up to the tower straight from the Wallachian Village at set times – ideal if you are going round the museum anyway.
The tower measures 31.09 metres. The viewing platform is at 18.8 metres and 102 steps lead up to it (85 inside and 17 outside).
Seasonally from April to October. Daily in the main season, and in July and August until 6 p.m. – exact times can differ, so check them before you set out.
Adults CZK 40, children aged 6–15, students and people over 65 CZK 20, family ticket CZK 80. Children under 6 go in free.
On foot from Valašské muzeum v přírodě – over the wooden footbridge above the car park and uphill along the green waymarks, about 30 minutes. In season you can also walk up straight from the Wallachian Village.
It follows a sketch by the architect Dušan Samo Jurkovič from 1896. It was built more than a hundred years later – the detailed design documentation was worked up from the sketch by the architect Antonín Závada.
Otázka 1 z 5
Rysík→A few quizzes and I get glasses, and I will feel properly educated.
Your rank: Homebody. You do not have a single stamp yet. Visit any place and become a Pilgrim.
You can experience the Beskids and Moravian Wallachia with Rysík and without him. Rysík would love to be there for it. Whether you take him along and take on the challenges with him is up to you.
You can find your favourite places in your account. On the Walking routes page you can use them to filter routes.
Suggest a more accurate wording.
The heritage trail through the Rožnov park
Three linked paths join the tower with the centre of Rožnov and recall the spa era and the architect whose name the tower carries.
Přejít na stránku →
The pavilion in the middle of the Hájnice park
The trail from the tower leads here – the wooden music pavilion is an exact copy of the 1884 building.
Přejít na stránku →
The centre of Rožnov
The tower stands within sight of the town, and Rožnov is also the starting point for Radhošť and Pustevny.
Přejít na stránku →
The house of the museum's founders
The Art Nouveau villa of the Jaroněk brothers, who founded Valašské muzeum v přírodě in Rožnov.
Přejít na stránku →