Hotel Ještěd

Czech architect Karel Hubáček is responsible for the retro-futuristic tower rising over 300 ft above majestic Ještěd mountain.

The building itself has a futuristic flair (or at least “the future” according to the ’60s) both inside and out. The tower was designed to naturally extend the silhouette of the mountain it tops, but isn’t merely decorative. It is a television transmitter, built to withstand the extreme climate. Built between 1966 and 1973, the Ještěd Tower was awarded the Perret Prize, an honor bestowed by the International Union of Architects.

Below the tower is a hotel and restaurant, both of which embraced the “space age” motif with rounded egg chairs hanging from ceilings and gold-tinted lighting, everything decidedly round. The view is one of the most breathtaking in all of the Czech Republic, looking out over parts of Germany and Poland, and the majority of Bohemia.

You can reach the hotel by either walking or driving up the mountain or using a cable car. It is the location used in the movie Grandhotel, if you’d like to get a sneak peek before hauling yourself up to the top of the hill.