Opening hours of the lookout tower

Open in the period: 1. 4. – 31. 10. daily

Opening hours  : Mon – Sun: 9:00 – 17:00, in summer months until 19:00

Free admission

Access to the lookout tower

On foot from the town of Aš following the blue tourist sign

Distance from Aš Information Center: 1.8 km

Motor vehicles directly under the lookout tower are not allowed – the possibility of parking in the parking lot at the sports complex – about 500 m from the lookout tower

History

In the 1960s, Aš enthusiasts, led by Jiří Unger, built a rest area on a originally bare and ugly hill with a forest park, which became the pride of Aš. [1]

The first plan to build a lookout tower here appeared in 1874, but despite the financial support of the town of Aš, it was not possible to obtain a sufficient amount of funds for the next twenty years.

Financing and proposals

However, the situation changed in 1895 on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the first German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. In 1898, the Committee for the Construction of a Lookout Tower was established, chaired by Mayor Emil Schindler and whose activities also included members of other associations (German and Austrian Mountaineering Association, Association of Growers and Beautifiers, Association of Germans in Bohemia). The members of the committee called on the citizens of Aš to contribute to the construction of a lookout tower, which was to be named after the revered German Chancellor. Sufficient funds were soon raised and the German architect Wilhelm Kreis, who was described as the father of the Bismarck Columns and whose design of the Bismarck Column Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), was awarded the 1st Prize of the German Students’ Association and was used a total of 47 times until 1911.

The Kreis submitted a total of two proposals, but both were rejected. Only the third proposal, which differed from the traditional concept of Bismarck’s columns, was unanimously approved. This design won a gold medal at the Dresden Art Exhibition in 1901. Ernst Hausner, a master builder from Aš, was commissioned to build in August 1902. The construction manager was Johannes Hörer from Steinpöhl.

Building

Construction began on September 22, 1902, the foundation stone was laid on October 18 of the same year. The rough construction was completed in October 1903 and the first visitors could see the lookout tower and climb up on December 25 after paying 10 pennies. The lookout tower was ceremoniously opened on June 19, 1904.

The construction costs amounted to 58,967 Austrian crowns and consumed 666 m2 of granite blocks, 65,000 bricks, 58 lime wagons and three cement wagons. The lookout tower is 34 m high and its base has a square floor plan measuring 6.7 × 6.7 m.

In 1913, a bronze relief of Bismarck by Albrecht Gerold Sr. was placed at the side entrance, which, together with other mentions of Bismarck, was removed after 1945.

Present

In 2004, the trees that blocked the view were cut down, and the lookout tower began to fulfill its function again. The owner of the lookout tower is the town of Aš.

In 2010, a new sports complex was built under the lookout tower on Háj Hill.

In 2013, the interior and exterior of the lookout tower were reconstructed.