Halaška, Observation tower on Kopřivná hill near Budišov nad Budišovkou, Czech Republic

Halaška is a 29.2-metre steel lookout tower on Kopřivná hill (641 m) near Budišov nad Budišovkou, completed in January 2021. Its grey four-sided frame is formed by four steel columns in a rectangular cross, with rounded openings through which a zigzag steel-grating staircase of 153 steps climbs seven levels to a viewing platform at 23.8 m. The tower has a glass roof and a transparent floor section on one platform.

The idea for a lookout near Budišov nad Budišovkou arose in 2016 within the Euroregion Silesia plan for new towers on the Czech-Polish border. The Kopřivná site won over a second option because the land belonged to the town and stood higher. Foundations were laid in April 2020, the steel structure rose from September 2020, and the tower was finished in January 2021, built by Femont Ostrava for 11.1 million CZK, of which the town paid 2.1 million and the rest came from an EU grant.

The tower is named after František Ignác Kassián Halašek, an astronomer, mathematician and physicist born in Budišov nad Budišovkou in 1780. The glass roof was chosen so visitors could observe the night sky, echoing his study of the universe. Nearby stand a star map and a sundial.

The tower cannot be reached by car; access is only on foot or by bicycle. From Budišov nad Budišovkou a red-marked trail leads along a field path for about 3 km with 100 m of elevation gain. Two shelters and information panels stand near the tower.

The glass roof was chosen because František Ignác Kassián Halašek, the Budišov-born astronomer, mathematician and physicist after whom the tower is named, studied the universe. Standing outside sources of light pollution, visitors can in theory observe the sky dome from the tower.