Pancíř, Observation tower in Železná Ruda, Czech Republic.

Pancíř is a mountain cottage with an observation tower on the 1214 m Pancíř peak near Železná Ruda. The 1923 building by architect Janovský of Klatovy, erected by builder Kuchler of Železná Ruda, combines a tourist chalet with a lookout tower above it.

The first lookout on Pancíř was a wooden structure of several beams built in 1880 by members of the Austrian Tourist Club; it lasted only a few years. In 1896 the Klatovy branch of the Club of Czech Tourists attempted a new tower, but the project failed through the opposition of landowners. The present cottage with tower was built by the Czechoslovak Tourist Club and opened on 28 September 1923, designed by architect Janovský of Klatovy and built by Kuchler of Železná Ruda.

The cottage was named after Jaroslav Mattuš, a promoter of Šumava tourism, and is now called Horská chata Pancíř. The 1923 building was designed by architect Janovský of Klatovy and erected by builder Kuchler of Železná Ruda.

The tower can be reached via marked hiking trails with rest areas and information boards along the way. The climb is relatively short, but sturdy footwear and weather-appropriate clothing are advisable.

The first lookout on Pancíř went up in 1880, a wooden frame of several beams built by the Austrian Tourist Club that lasted only a few years. A second attempt by the Klatovy branch of the Czech Tourist Club in 1896 failed because landowners opposed it.