Černá hora, Observation tower and transmitter station in Janské Lázně, Czech Republic
Černá hora is an observation tower located on a mountain peak near Janské Lázně at an elevation of roughly 1254 meters. The 21 meter structure serves both as a public viewing platform and as a broadcasting station for the surrounding area.
The tower began as support no. 8 of the original cable car to Černá hora, in service from 1928 to 1981. When the old cable car was dismantled after the new one opened in 1998, the Panorama association reused the metal structure as an observation tower. Engineer Václav Komanec (1947–2018), then cable car chief, saved it from scrapping; Eurotel funded the conversion.
The tower's name, Panorama, comes from the ČT sport morning programme of the same name, which takes its camera signal from a camera mounted on the tower. The lookout is run by the association Panorama, which built it on the steel support of the old cable car.
The easiest way to reach the tower is by taking the Lanovka Janské Lázně cable car, which connects the town to the mountain year-round. The short ride saves you a strenuous walk up the slope.
The tower's viewing terrace holds 30 people at 21 metres above ground, reached by 106 steps with a special winter surface treatment. The steel structure was saved from scrapping by Václav Komanec (1947–2018), then chief of the cable car, and the conversion was paid for by the mobile operator Eurotel, whose antenna systems sit on the tower; T-Mobile shares the site as a base station.
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