A short walk to the Štěpánka tower on Hvězda mountain (959m) in the Jizerské hory: 4 km

• Hvězda (959m) is a peak on the border between the Jizerské hory and Krkonoše protected landscape areas. It is quite a well known landmark due to the historic viewing tower, called Štěpánka, located on its summit. The tower was finally finished in 1892 and named in honor of Archduke Stephen who was Governor of Bohemia earlier in the 19th century and who apparently enjoyed the region. The tower offers a panoramic view of both mountain ranges.
• Behind the tower there is a controversial memorial area effected by local German inhabitants in 1944 to commemorate conscripts who lost their lives in the war. It was removed after the war, but re-erected in 2011.
• There are various starting options for a walk to Hvězda but a nice option is to start from the ski village of Příchovice, which has a bus connection with the Kořenov regional train station and a couple of paid parking options. From there it is a 2 km gradual ascent of 160m to the summit, most of which is on an asphalt road. The last 50m is on a slightly steeper forest track.
• Below the summit there are also a couple of popular pension-restaurants, which are worth investigating after a walk up to the tower. In addition, there are refreshment options in Příchovice, including the nice pension restaurant U Čápa connected to a microbrewery.

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Directions

• From Příchovice village center, join the GREEN hiking trail and follow this all the way to the summit of Hvězda, which is reached in 1.8 km
• Return back the same way, but consider diverting using the marked forest path just below the summit to Turnovska chata,to check out one of the two Hvězda restaurants