Ještěd is a 1012 m high mountain in the north of the Czech Republic, located south of Liberec. It is part of the Ještěd ridge and has long been considered one of the main dominants of northern Bohemia and a symbol of the city that lies below it. There are unique terraces, lonely rocks and rock walls.
For the locals, it has always been something special and mythical. According to the chronicler Johann Cazel Rohn, a cross was erected on the summit rock for the first time in 1737, the first of a series of crosses on Ještěd. It was made of stone and withstood winds and storms until 1812. Other crosses were built on the top of Ještěd after its model, but they were already wooden. An unforgettable monument is the Rohan memorial stone in the shape of an obelisk, which was erected in honor of the visit of Prince Rohan in 1828. The beginnings of interest in Ještěd can be found in the middle of the 19th century, when it began to become a frequent destination for tourists, who were especially attracted by the view of the surroundings, where in good weather you can even see Prague. Tourists wanted to have refreshments at the top, in addition to the beautiful view, and so in 1844, Florian and Barbara Hasler from Horní Hanychov set up a refreshment stand on summer Sundays from the supplies they had brought. Their sales point was improved over the years. In the 1950s, a wooden hut stood here, and in 1868 the first stone house was built, where the Haslers offered visitors accommodation in addition to refreshments. The building was named after Prince Rohan. The number of tourists on the summit continued to grow, so the first five-meter wooden observation tower was built for their needs in 1876. In 1889, it had to be removed due to the risk of collapse and a hexagonal, but again wooden, observation tower took its place. As expected, it was closed in 1902 and demolished the following year due to its poor condition.