Krásno Lookout Tower

A few kilometres from the village of Krásno, in the heart of the Slavkov Forest, stands one of the most remarkable lookout towers in the Czech Republic. The unique shape of the 25-metre tower, with a spiral staircase that unusually winds around its outer wall, is reminiscent of a Babylonian ziggurat.

The tower owes its existence to the economic crisis of the 1930s. The people of Krásno wanted to fight unemployment, so they decided to build a lookout tower on top of a rocky slope at 777 metres above sea level, offering a better view of the romantic surroundings of the Slavkov Forest. It was ceremonially opened in 1934 and named after Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler. Even today, it is sometimes still referred to as "Hitlerka".