--- title: "The secret of Pustevny | zPusteven.cz" description: "Rysík investigates why six different places look as though they belong to one grand plan." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/experience-beskydy/secret-of-pustevny" lang: "en" --- How it is played 1. 1 Rysík guesses At the start of each chapter he offers a hunch about the border. 2. 2 You find the clue The first one waits at Pustevny. Your phone confirms that you are standing by it. 3. 3 The story shifts The clue shows where he was wrong and opens the next part of the search. Rysík is a fictional character and his investigation is a game. The places and the facts you learn with him are real, though. Stamps you collected earlier by GPS count too. The secret of Pustevny Opening 0 % 1. ![Rysík standing in front of Jurkovič's buildings at Pustevny](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-pustevny.avif) Half-day detective game Illustration of Rysík in front of the Libušín extension and Maměnka # The secret of Pustevny Six clues along the ridge reveal who gave Pustevny its present face. - 3–5 hours - 6 stops - GPS stamps - Works without a signal ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík asks “So many different buildings on one ridge? How did that happen?” Would you like the answer too? Set out on the expedition through the places below - at each of them the story gives you a piece of the truth. 1. [Pustevny Start 1](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pustevny) 2. [Libušín 2](https://zpusteven.cz/en/libusin) 3. [Maměnka 3](https://zpusteven.cz/en/mamenka) 4. [Mořské oko 4](https://zpusteven.cz/en/morske-oko) 5. [The Cyrilka lookout pavilion 5](https://zpusteven.cz/en/altan-cyrilka) 6. [The Radegast statue Finish 6](https://zpusteven.cz/en/socha-radegasta) → The way back is the same route, without the detour to Cyrilka. If you have time to spare, you can carry on to [Radhošť and its chapel](https://zpusteven.cz/hiking/pustevny-radhost-roznov/pustevny/radhost). Rysík is a fictional character and his investigation is a game. The places and the facts you learn with him are real, though. Stamps you collected earlier by GPS count too. 2. ![Pustevny](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pustevny/1280/DJI_0872.avif) Mission 1/6 · The beginning ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík asks “So many buildings together, and every one different. Did they all go up at once? And which one stood here first of all?” Opening Your task ### Walk to [Pustevny](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pustevny) Walk the saddle from Brána Pusteven to the hotel at the far end. Notice how different the buildings are in age and in ornament. The mountain saddle is full of buildings. Rysík wants to know what started it all. Once you are here, click the “I am here” button. It unlocks what Rysík found out on the spot. You have had this place confirmed in the field since . **?** Without a location check the visit does not count towards the passport - it only lets you read on. 3. ![A saddle that did not appear all at once](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pustevny/1280/DJI_0863.avif) Mission 1/6 · The beginning Photograph of the place Opening 1886 · Uncovered ### A saddle that did not appear all at once ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “Not at once - Pustevny grew house by house for nearly half a century. Something of the very first tourist chalet is supposed to be left. Where is it?” Pustevny lies in the saddle between Radhošť and Tanečnice at around 1,100 m a.s.l. It takes its name from the hermits who lived here until the end of the 18th century. The saddle became a walkers' settlement in 1886, when Pohorská jednota Radhošť bought the plot called Krabičanek here from Apolena Malinová, the fojtka - a hereditary village head. Within five years a single-storey house with sixteen beds and a taproom went up on it - a shelter called Pústevňa. In 1894 the stone Šumná joined it, probably the oldest tourist chalet still standing in the Beskids, and two buildings by Jurkovič followed at the turn of the century. Pústevňa, the very first tourist chalet, is something you would look for here in vain today. Unlocked by a visit to Pustevny, confirmed since . 4. ![Rysík standing in front of Jurkovič's buildings at Pustevny](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-pustevny.avif) The author's game illustration Opening Pústevňa, the very first tourist chalet, is no longer here to find. So Rysík heads for the most famous building - perhaps the clue is hidden inside it. 5. ![Libušín](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/libusin/1280/DJI_0878.avif) Mission 2/6 · The first house ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík is thinking “This grand house looks like a patchwork - as if several buildings had been put together. What is behind that?” Opening Your task ### Walk to [Libušín](https://zpusteven.cz/en/libusin) Walk right around Libušín. Notice that the building is made up of three different parts. The most famous house in the saddle. Rysík suspects it also holds the answer to where the first tourist chalet went. Once you are here, click the “I am here” button. It unlocks what Rysík found out on the spot. You have had this place confirmed in the field since . **?** Without a location check the visit does not count towards the passport - it only lets you read on. 6. ![Libušín hides the first Pústevňa](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/libusin/1280/DJI_0878.avif) Mission 2/6 · The first house Photograph of the place Opening 1899 · Uncovered ### Libušín hides the first Pústevňa ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “Wow! I came to see the most famous building and found the very first tourist chalet, Pústevňa, inside it. Libušín swallowed it up as its left wing. Later a right wing was added - Parma's extension - and that made the building I'm looking at now. And behind all of it stood one single association, whose name I can still read on the front.” The Pústevňa of 1891 never disappeared. When Pohorská jednota Radhošť built on the same spot again eight years later, the first shelter was absorbed into the new building as its left wing. The oldest walls at Pustevny therefore lie hidden inside the most famous house here. The new Libušín was designed by the young Dušan Jurkovič as a dining hall for neighbouring Maměnka, where guests slept. The house later grew by a right wing, Parma's extension. The interior was painted by Karel Štapfer to designs by Mikoláš Aleš. In 2014 much of the building burned down; a meticulous, research-based reconstruction returned it to its 1925 form, and in July 2020 it reopened - complete with the Pohorská jednota Radhošť inscription on the front. Unlocked by a visit to Libušín, confirmed since . 7. ![Rysík discovering another hidden clue in the mountain forest](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-cs4.avif) The author's game illustration Opening The first tourist chalet has been found - hidden inside Libušín. And on its front, the name of the builder. Right beside it, though, stands a second, even bolder house. 8. ![Maměnka](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/mamenka/1280/IMG_0105.avif) Mission 3/6 · Nerve ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík asks “A house this striking was probably commissioned by a rich hotelier. Who else would take that risk?” Opening Your task ### Walk to [Maměnka](https://zpusteven.cz/en/mamenka) Look at the log walls and the carved gables. Try to guess how much work a house like this took. A house that looks costlier and bolder than a hiking association could dare to commission. Once you are here, click the “I am here” button. It unlocks what Rysík found out on the spot. You have had this place confirmed in the field since . **?** Without a location check the visit does not count towards the passport - it only lets you read on. 9. ![Maměnka](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/mamenka/1280/IMG_0105.avif) Mission 3/6 · Nerve Photograph of the place Opening 1899 · Uncovered ### Maměnka ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “The client was the Pohorská jednota again. It entrusted the young Jurkovič with two houses at once.” In the late 1890s the association commissioned two buildings at once from the young Dušan Jurkovič. Maměnka was for sleeping, neighbouring Libušín for eating. Both opened on 6 August 1899. At the end of the Second World War the lodges were used to billet troops, fell into disrepair, and demolition was considered - the association could not afford the repairs. In the mid-1980s Maměnka was closed as unsafe and stood out of use for eighteen years. It took guests again from 2003, a hundred and four years after it opened. Unlocked by a visit to Maměnka, confirmed since . 10. ![Rysík looking up at Maměnka's carved gable](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-mamenka.avif) The author's game illustration Opening Rysík expected a wealthy client. Instead he found an association that took on two houses at once - and, as it turns out, it took on a great deal more. 11. ![Mořské oko](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/morske-oko/1280/IMG_0165.avif) Mission 4/6 · The landscape ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík is thinking “A little below the ridge there is a pool. Almost every mountain range has its own tarn - and apparently the Beskids do too.” Opening Your task ### Walk to [Mořské oko](https://zpusteven.cz/en/morske-oko) From the railing, look at the shape of the pool's banks - they are too regular to have formed on their own. Rysík is sure it has nothing to do with the dormitories. Once you are here, click the “I am here” button. It unlocks what Rysík found out on the spot. You have had this place confirmed in the field since . **?** Without a location check the visit does not count towards the passport - it only lets you read on. 12. ![Mořské oko](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/morske-oko/1280/IMG_0165.avif) Mission 4/6 · The landscape Photograph of the place Opening 1894 · Uncovered ### Mořské oko ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “They do - only it's man-made. The association dug this lake by hand.” One thing bothered the association's members: the Beskids were the only mountains without a tarn. So in 1894 they made one themselves. They picked an older wetland in a hollow below the ridge, cleared it and deepened it. They borrowed the name from glacial and volcanic lakes. The lake is now a protected pool; because of the newts, visitors must stay behind the railing. Unlocked by a visit to Mořské oko, confirmed since . 13. ![Rysík rethinking the route over an unfolded map](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-cs3.avif) The author's game illustration Opening The lake is man-made - the association shaped not only buildings but the landscape as well. Rysík now has to work out what else the ridge has in store. 14. ![The Cyrilka lookout pavilion](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/altan-cyrilka/1280/IMG_0091.avif) Mission 5/6 · The scale ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík asks “Maybe a few houses in the saddle were enough for them. The pavilion must belong to some other story.” Opening Your task ### Walk to [the Cyrilka lookout pavilion](https://zpusteven.cz/en/altan-cyrilka) Look inside. A map of the view is painted on the wall - it shows how far you can see in good conditions. The wooden pavilion stands away from the saddle. At first Rysík takes it for an entirely different story. Once you are here, click the “I am here” button. It unlocks what Rysík found out on the spot. You have had this place confirmed in the field since . **?** Without a location check the visit does not count towards the passport - it only lets you read on. 15. ![The Cyrilka pavilion](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/altan-cyrilka/1280/IMG_0091.avif) Mission 5/6 · The scale Photograph of the place Opening 1894 · Uncovered ### The Cyrilka pavilion ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “It doesn't. Cyrilka stood at the end of a strip of land the association was buying up piece by piece. Their plan was far bigger.” The pavilion does not stand on the ridge by chance. The spot, called Stupně, marks the end of the strip of land the association bought up year after year from Tanečnice. The pavilion is named after the first of the two missionaries; its sister Metodějka on Okrouhlé did not outlast the century. The Cyrilka pavilion was built fourteen years before the association owned the whole ridge - making it the oldest surviving Pohorská jednota Radhošť building on the ridge. Unlocked by a visit to The Cyrilka lookout pavilion, confirmed since . 16. ![Rysík pointing from the pavilion along the ridge into the distance](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-cyrilka.avif) The author's game illustration Opening Rysík points from the Cyrilka pavilion towards Pustevny - this is exactly the line along which the association's land grew year after year. 17. ![The Radegast statue](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/socha-radegast/1280/IMG_0044.avif) Mission 6/6 · The peak of the plan ![Rysík](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/1024/lv1.avif) Rysík asks “This giant is the symbol of the whole region. I want to see the Radegast statue close up.” Opening Your task ### Walk to [the Radegast statue](https://zpusteven.cz/en/socha-radegasta) Walk around the statue. In one hand it holds a horn of plenty, in the other an axe. Its face is a lion's. Radegast on the ridge belongs to everyone - he is the symbol of the whole region. Rysík goes to look at him close up. Once you are here, click the “I am here” button. It unlocks what Rysík found out on the spot. You have had this place confirmed in the field since . **?** Without a location check the visit does not count towards the passport - it only lets you read on. 18. ![A Radegast for the association](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/socha-radegast/1280/IMG_0044.avif) Mission 6/6 · The peak of the plan Photograph of the place Opening 1931 · Uncovered ### A Radegast for the association ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “Wow! The association I ran into at the very first stop has been with me the whole way - and it is behind this statue too. Albín Polášek gave it to the Pohorská jednota Radhošť.” Radegast was given to the association by Albín Polášek, born in Frenštát, a professor at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1930 he had it brought up to the ridge at his own expense - besides a lorry, a team of ten horses helped. The day before the unveiling, on 4 July 1931, a hailstorm broke over the ridge. Lightning struck and killed the twenty-two-year-old private Karel Than, who was standing guard by the statue. The next day it cleared and the statue was unveiled. The one in front of you is a hard-wearing granite replica from 1998. The original in artificial stone can be seen in the foyer of the Frenštát town hall. It was moved there after lightning and mountain weather had damaged it on the ridge. Unlocked by a visit to The Radegast statue, confirmed since . 19. ![Rysík pointing at the Radegast statue on a stormy Beskid ridge](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-radegast.avif) The author's game illustration Opening The last clue falls into place: Radegast is the symbol of the ridge and at the same time a gift to the Pohorská jednota. 20. ![Rysík pointing from the ridge to the landscape below the Beskids](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-cs5.avif) The author's closing scene Expedition completed ![Rysík writing his findings into his notebook](https://zpusteven.cz/rysik/cutscene/1920/rysik-zapisnik.avif) Rysík found out “I set out to see the famous spots at Pustevny, and ended up uncovering the story of one association spread across the whole ridge. Its name has almost vanished, but its plan is still all around us.” Over several decades the Pohorská jednota Radhošť gained control of a continuous strip of land on which Pustevny took the form we know today. Dormitories, lookouts, a dining hall, an artificial lake and finally the Radegast statue - the association had a hand in all of it. In June 1950 the association's activity came to an end and its property was taken over by Československé hotely. The association was revived in 1990, but it did not get the ridge back. 21. Sealed The rest of the expedition opens stamp by stamp in the field, one step at a time. Where it leads you will see only once you are standing there. --- Source: [The secret of Pustevny | zPusteven.cz](https://zpusteven.cz/experience-beskydy/secret-of-pustevny) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.