Mountain saddle • the Beskids • 1,018 m a.s.l.
The saddle where a hermitage gave way to Jurkovič's mountain lodges.
Why come here
Libušín and Maměnka stand in the saddle – Dušan Jurkovič's Art Nouveau lodges, restored to their original form. The ridge walk leads from here to the Radegast statue and on to Radhošť. Pustevny is a junction of hiking, cycling and cross-country skiing routes.
Not to be missed
Take a look at Jurkovič's mountain lodges and the old bell tower. Just below the ridge lie Cyrilka Cave and Mořské oko, and 1.5 km along the ridge the Radegast statue awaits.
When to go
At weekends and in the school holidays, the car park by Brána Pusteven is often full before noon; the chairlift from Ráztoka is a comfortable alternative. In winter, ice sculptures are on show in the saddle; in summer, sand ones take their place.
Part of the original complex; restored in 1997 from Jurkovič's plans.
Foto: Maxx, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
a few minutes from the saddleCyrilka CaveA fissure cave below the ridge – in local legend, the entrance to Radegast's underworld.
a short way from the saddleMořské okoA small lake in the forest below Pustevny, a refuge for newts.
1.5 km along the ridgeThe Radegast statueA granite replica of Polášek's Radegast on the ridge path to Radhošť.
400 m from the car parkStezka ValaškaA treetop walk with an admission charge, ending at a lookout tower by the trail with red waymarks to Tanečnice.
A hermitage gave the saddle its name. Its buildings have shaped its character for over a century.
Hermits
A wooden cross stood on Radhošť's summit at the time. From 1735, pilgrimages to it took place four times a year. Hermits looked after the pilgrims on their way up, and in the mid-18th century they built a hermitage here. Their dwelling gave the place its name: Pustevny means “hermitages”.
The last hermit is said to have been Felix, who died in his refuge perhaps in 1784. The hermitage vanished; the name stayed.
Pohorská jednota Radhošť
Tourists discovered the saddle in the late 19th century. The Frenštát association Pohorská jednota Radhošť set out to open up remote corners of the Beskids: it waymarked paths and built mountain hostels.
The first shelter, Pústevňa, went up here in 1891, and the stone Šumná three years later. Šumná was designed by the Italian architect Bertini and built by Italian workers who also built the railway from Valašské Meziříčí to Ostrava. Šumná is probably the oldest tourist chalet still standing in the Beskids.
So that the Beskids would have a mountain lake of their own, in 1894 the association dug the small lake Mořské oko below the saddle. Interest grew faster than capacity, and the association decided to keep building.
Dušan Jurkovič
The new lodges were designed by the Slovak architect Dušan Samo Jurkovič in the folk Art Nouveau style; the interiors of Libušín drew on drawings by Mikoláš Aleš. Libušín and Maměnka opened to visitors in 1899.
Libušín with its painted dining hall was gutted by fire in 2014 and reopened after a scientific reconstruction; the Maměnka lodge survived the threat of demolition and accommodates guests again today.
The Jurkovič bell tower
A small log-built bell tower with a shingle roof and a slender turret completes the group of lodges – the third building Dušan Samo Jurkovič left in the saddle. It bears his distinctive folk Art Nouveau style, just like Libušín and Maměnka.
The bell tower's original painted decoration has not survived. It was restored in 1997 by the conservators František Procházka and Ivan Popov, following Jurkovič's plans held in a Bratislava archive. Together with the lodges, the bell tower is now in the care of Národní muzeum v přírodě.
Europe's first chairlift
The idea for a chairlift was brought back from travels in America by František Wiesner, an industrialist from Chrudim. Work went on in bitter frosts, yet it took only two months. The line from Trojanovice-Ráztoka to Pustevny opened on 4 March 1940.
The single-seat chairs made of oak boards had a ski basket on the side. The first line climbed 304 metres over a distance of 887 metres. A second chairlift replaced it in 1956 and ran until 1982. The current chairlift, the third, has operated since 1987. Its lower station was moved further down the valley, almost doubling the length of the line. The journey covers 1,637 metres in 11 minutes.
The upper station, with a restaurant glazed on three sides, was designed by the architects Kamil Mrva and Václav Kocián. It is built of stone, wood and glass. Officially classed as a reconstruction of the 1941 station, it was completed in 2017. The result won the main prize, the Grand Prix, in the Stavba Moravskoslezského kraje awards.
A new threshold to the mountains by the car park
The newest building in the saddle is the entrance to the resort, opened in 2024. It consists of the main building by the car park and, across the road, a bell tower with a portal onto the forest path – together an imaginary gateway where Pustevny begins.
The building offers an information centre with a waiting room, public toilets and a covered terrace sheltering the bus stop.
Read the story of Brána PustevenFrom a hermitage to a new gateway by the car park.
mid-18th c.
A hermitage appears on the pilgrimage route to the cross on Radhošť's summit – a chapel would follow only 150 years later. The hermits look after the pilgrims and give the saddle its name.
1784
The hermit Felix is said to die in the hermitage. The hermitage disappears, the name stays.
1891
Pohorská jednota Radhošť builds the first tourist shelter – a hostel for the growing stream of visitors to the mountains.
1894
A second shelter goes up beside Pústevňa. Interest in visiting grows faster than capacity.
1899
The lodges designed by Dušan Samo Jurkovič in the folk Art Nouveau style open; the interiors of Libušín follow drawings by Mikoláš Aleš.
1926
After the lull of the First World War, building in the saddle continues with a modern mountain hotel.
23 June 1928
During a visit to Pustevny, T. G. Masaryk stays overnight at the Tanečnica hotel with his daughter Alice.
1932
Another mountain hotel is added on the ridge between Pustevny and Radhošť.
4 March 1940
A chairlift with single-seat oak chairs starts running from Ráztoka to Pustevny – built in freezing conditions in two months.
1995–2003
Jurkovič's lodges return to their original form and the complex is declared a national cultural monument. The Libušín restaurant opens in 1999, the Maměnka hotel in 2003.
The story of Maměnka1997
Jurkovič's bell tower gets new shingles, following the original plans held in a Bratislava archive.
2014
On the night of 2–3 March, much of Libušín burns down – including its artistically most valuable feature, the painted dining hall.
The story of Libušín2017
A building of stone, wood and glass to a design by the architect Kamil Mrva goes up where the demolished one stood.
2019
An elevated walkway opens below Tanečnice: 660 metres of path and a lookout tower whose highest floor is 22 metres above the ground.
2020
After a scientific reconstruction to its 1925 form, Libušín returns to visitors on 30 July.
11 January 2024
A new entrance to the resort opens by the car park on the single access road.
MoreEach walk has its own colour on the map (the dots by the itinerary headings); dashed lines mark longer options – the descent to Rožnov with a bus back and the continuation to Kněhyňská louka.
13.1 km · ~4 h · blue
Follow the ridge to the granite statue of the pagan god Radegast by Albín Polášek – the same sculptor who also made the statues by the chapel.
From the statue, continue along the ridge for about another two kilometres to Radhošť's summit itself. You have views over both sides of the Beskids for practically the whole way.
Czechia's highest religious building – and beside it the statues of the missionaries, looking back across the ridge towards Radegast.
Don't want to go back the same way? From the chapel you can walk down the trail past the open-air museum Valašské muzeum v přírodě to Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. Check the return bus connection to Pustevny before setting off. The descent is dashed on the map.
4.6 km · ~2 h · red
Head east from the saddle, with Radhošť behind you. A short way from the junction by Libušín, the small lake Mořské oko lies hidden in the forest – a refuge for newts and other amphibians.
The walk to the junction with a rest area is easy. The red-marked trail then climbs more steeply for the last kilometre and a half or so along a stony forest path. Just below the junction are clearings kept open by grazing sheep for three hundred years.
The red-marked trail runs across the summit of the highest mountain in the Zlín Region (1,206 m), which is accessible on the marked trail. A short way below, at the end of a 100-metre fissure, lies Čertův stůl, a stone slab on two plinths. No marked trail leads to it, however, and visitors must stay on marked trails in the reserve, so you can view it in the 360° panorama. The remains of the Greiffka hunting lodge also stand beside the red-marked trail, about 497 m to the north.
You can continue towards Kněhyně, the higher summit in the national nature reserve. Visitors must stay on marked trails; none leads to the summit of Kněhyně, which is closed. The longer option is shown with a dashed line on the map.
The main car park is by Brána Pusteven at the end of the road from Prostřední Bečva. At weekends and in the school holidays it is often full before noon – the number of free spaces is shown on the municipal website. The alternative is the Ráztoka car park in Trojanovice and the chairlift.
By chairlift from Trojanovice-Ráztoka (the ride up takes 11 minutes), or by regional bus – the turning circle is right by Brána Pusteven and the stop is called “Prostřední Bečva, Pustevny, konečná”. Direct services and the towns they start from change by day and season, so check your arrival and return in IDOS.
The name means “hermitages”, after the hermits who lived in the saddle from the mid-18th century on the pilgrimage route to the cross on Radhošť's summit. The chapel did not stand there yet: it dates from 1898. The last hermit was called Felix; the hermitage vanished, the name stayed.
Yes, along an easy ridge walk: 1.5 km to the Radegast statue and on to the Chapel of Saints Cyril and Methodius on the summit. The path has no shelter, though – expect wind and bring an extra layer.
In winter and for a few weeks only (in 2026 from mid-January to early February); in summer a sand sculpture exhibition takes their place. Each year has a different theme and location – check the dates on the resort website.
Libušín is a dining hall open to visitors, Maměnka serves as a hotel – you can get inside if you are staying there. Check the tours run by Národní muzeum v přírodě on the museum's website before you set out.
Otázka 1 z 4
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.
