Rozhledna Lázek, Observation tower in Cotkytle, Czech Republic.
Rozhledna Lázek is a 20-metre wooden tower on Lázek hill (715 m), the highest point of the Zábřežská vrchovina, 1.5 km southwest of Cotkytle. Its covered viewing platform sits at 17 m and is reached by 87 steps.
A first 15-metre wooden tower with a covered lookout was opened on 28 July 1912 by the National Unity of Olomouc beside the 1908 mound to Svatopluk Čech, and was demolished in 1918. The present tower was built in 1933 from a collection by the Club of Czech Tourists to a design by architect Stejskal and opened on 13 August, together with a cottage named after tax official František Reichl of Zábřeh.
The hilltop carries a memorial mound to the writer Svatopluk Čech, heaped up in 1908, beside which the first tower was raised in 1912. The cottage next to the tower is named after František Reichl, a tax official from Zábřeh. A buffet has operated at the site again since July 2016.
The tower stands 1.5 km southwest of Cotkytle; a turn-off from road 368 between Tatenice and Cotkytle leads almost to its base by car or bike. Hikers reach it on the red trail from Zábřeh via Hoštejn and Strážná or from Štíty via Cotkytle, the green trail from Lanškroun, or the yellow trail from Zábřeh via Drozdov. The 87 steps to the 17-metre platform are climbed on foot.
The hill Lázek, at 715 m, is the highest point of the Zábřežská vrchovina. Beside the tower stands a mound dedicated to Svatopluk Čech, piled up in 1908, four years before the first wooden tower was built next to it. On clear days the view reaches the Krkonoše and the Svatý kopeček near Olomouc.
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