ubytování a restaurace Liberec

Preview of the book "Jested and Podjestedi" by Marek Rehacek.
This "Tourist guide to the mountains and their surroundings" was edited by Kalendar Liberecka in 2004. The preview is presented with the editor’s consent.


   "‘Ještěd rears up like a dragon‘,claimed school children forty years ago in an enthusiastic poem about this symbolic mountain, and not without reason." That is how the white–bearded lover of mountains, snow and skiing, Aleš Lyžec, starts his story about Ještěd in his book "Pictures of winter beauty in the mountains," and he continues: "Ještěd is one of the most famous peaks. From near and far, it looks like a jewel in the Czech countryside."
   Ještěd belongs among the most prominent and also the most famous mountain–tops of the Czech Republic and Bohemia. It is visible from almost all view–points south of Prague. The range itself has always been a border–mountain dividing aristocratic estates. As late as the beginning of the 20th century, it not only bordered the Rohan and the Clam–Gallas estates, but it also represented an ethnic border between the Czech enclave in Podještědí and the inhabitants of Liberec, who were for the most part German. In 1838, the Rohan’s stone (still a well–preserved obelisk) was raised on the peak of the mountain, as a memorial to the visit of Adela Rohan. At the same time, the obelisk served as a border–marker. The inscription "ROHANSTEIN" is still legible on the stone.
rohanuv kamen
Rohan‘s Stone

The peak of Ještěd was bare for a long time. Legend has it that from time out of mind there has been a wooden cross standing there, which in 1737 was replaced by a stone cross. Since the 19th century, the mountain has been a favourite destination of tourists from Liberec. The first place of refreshment on top of Ještěd was set up as early as 1844 by the Hasler’s from Horni Hanychov. In 1874, the gamekeeper Hebelt built a hut providing refreshment near the top rocks; unfortunately, it was destroyed in the winter of the same year. In 1850 the Heslers built a new hut where they used to sell modest refreshments. In 1868, with the help of the inhabitants of Liberec, they built a sturdy building that was named Rohan’s cottage. It would also be called Old Ještěd House. Towards the end of the 19th century, thanks to it being massive but easily accessible, Ještěd became a centre of interest for tourists. The lovers of local countryside, who later formed a tourist club, chose the mountain as their symbol. At the beginning of the 20th century they even organised a curious "Hundred Competition" that demanded as many ascents to the top as possible.
stavba noveho
Construction of the new hotel on top of Ještěd

   Ještěd offers an excellent all–round view.When the weather is clear, it is possible to see the 144 km-distant „Žák’s Mountain in Czech–Moravian highlands and the 149 km-distant Klínovec in Krušné Hory (mountains), as well as Žižka’s Tower in Prague, Říp, Milešovka, the Table Mountains in Českosaské švýcarsko, Lusatia and the Zittau Mountains (Germany), a significant part of Upper Lusatia, the western part of Lower Silesia (Poland) including the border town Zgorzelec with its prominent peak called Landeskrone, the highest peaks of the Jizera Mountains, Krkonose (Giant Mountains), Český Ráj (Czech Paradise) and a significant part of Southern Bohemia. Ještěd offers the most interesting views during the spring and autumn equinoxes (21 March and 23 September), when the sun rises at 6.00 o’clock right above Sněžka, the highest mountain in the Czech Republic; the mountain resembles a black triangle framed in crimson–gold light.
liberec z jestedu
View of Liberec from the top of Ještěd

   From 1876 there has been a look–out tower. After the original ceased to exist, several other towers were built on the same site. Since the end of the 19th century, the members of the Mountain club had been dreaming about an extensive Ještěd mountain cottage, which was finally built according to the design of the Liberec architect Schafer. The foundation stone of a simple, half wooden cottage with a 28m high stone viewing tower was laid in June 1906 and half a year later "New Ještěd House" was opened. In its time, the building was considered one of the most modern mountain cottages in the Austro–Hungarian Empire. The greatly popular "New Ještěd House" survived both World Wars without much damage. In 1963, however, it burned down due to carelessness while the piping was being defrosted.
   Nevertheless, the mountain hotels were to continue putting the finishing touches to the look of the mountain, and three years after the fire the construction of a new hotel, designed by the Liberec architect Karel Hubáček, was begun. Considering that from 1953 Ještěd had been used for transmitting television broadcasts, a powerful television transmitter was to be a part of the building. This fact meant that the shape of the new building was to a certain extent predetermined. Already, in the time of its creation, the building was a unique project. The specifications of the demanding building, intended to form the shape of hyperboloid that would extend the mountain to a point, were calculated by Zdenek Patrman. The stylisticly unified interiors were designed by Otakar Binar. The realization itself was to a certain extent experimental. The structure was adjusted several times during construction so the building could withstand the extreme climactic conditions. In 1969, the architecturalal solution of the project was awarded the prestigious Perret prize. Due to the political situation, however, the architect was not allowed to travel to Buenos Aires and accept the prize. In 2000, the hotel and the transmitter were awarded the title best Czech building of the 20th century.
   In olden times, there was only a forest path leading to the top of Ještěd. Later, the „Hoffmanns path“ (roughly followed by today’s blue–marked tourist path) became a traditional path of ascent. At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of the New Ještěd Cottage required the laying of a road starting at „Na Výbřeži“ saddle. As early as 1904, the road was staked out by Gross, the main groundsman of the Clam–Gallas family. In later years, it was changed several times due to the steep ascent. The construction itself was started in summer 1907 and finished the following year. In the late sixties, the road was re–layed in the upper part of the mountain because of the construction of the new hotel and transmitter. Since 1933, tourists have been able to travel to the top of the mountain by cablecar.
   At present, the mountain hotel on top of Ještěd is undoubtedly the most famous symbol of the Liberec region. Its silhouette has been used in the logos of many local companies and in 2001 it even appeared in the symbol of the Liberec Region. The town of Liberec together with the Liberec Region aspires for this technical monument to be on UNESCO’s list of world cultural heritage sites that, at present, includes 12 buildings in the Czech Republic.


   Buildings and monuments on top of Ještěd
   The top of Ještěd has not always been a paved platform next to a remarkable mountain hotel. Although, due to its climate, trees have never grown on the top, it used to be carpeted by lichen, moss and high–altitude herbs. This bare mountain top has, from times immemorial, attracted people to its heights. At first, only romantic souls would struggle to climb up difficult paths. Later, the number of people visiting the bare mountain top and its lonely cross increased. In 1844, an army that suppressed a workers’ uprising in Liberec set off for Jestěd. It is said that the doyens of Ještěd tourism, Florian and Barbara Heslers from Horni Hanychov, followed in their steps. In their baskets they were carrying rolls, smoked meat and alcohol for the tired soldiers. They expected good business and they were not wrong. Their act was not only the start of Ještěd tourism but also inspired the construction of the first building on top of Ještěd. This was a frail hut built soon after (1847) by a gamekeeper called Hebelt, who rented it out to noone else but the Heslers. Everyday, they would carry fresh provisions to the top and cater for tourists, whose number was indeed steadily growing. The hut was soon set on fire by thieves. Nevertheless, the tireless Haslers used one of the natural caves on the top and built a new hut, using rough stones and vegetation (1850).
rohanova chata
Rohan‘s cottage
In the second half of the 19th century, tourism flourished and the hut that served as cellar, kitchen, bar and bedrooms furnished with moss beds was not sufficient for such a boom. Therefore, in 1868, the solid "Rohan’s Cottage" was built with the contribution of many a Liberec inhabitant, including enthusiastic industrialists. This building, later called "Old Ještěd House," was run by a famous inn–keeper nicknamed Mother Krusche, who was a relative of the Haslers. In 1885, the cottage was taken over by the German Mountain Club of Ještěd and the Jizera Mountains. In 1885, a year after its foundation, the club opened a new dormitory with two hundred beds. The Old Ještěd House served tourists for almost a hundred years, but from the beginning of the 20th century was only a poor sibling of the new hotel. In 1964, a year after the Ještěd mountain hotel was destroyed, it was also burnt down due to negligence.
puvodni rozhledna
Original building of the viewing tower on top of Ještěd
   At the end of the 19th century, Ještěd became extremely popular with tourists from near and far. From 1876 a viewing–tower stood there that apparently enabled its visitors to see as far as the mound of Prague castle. Its main initiator was industrialist and mountain–lover Adolf Hoffmann from Zgorzelec. Years later, today’s blue–marked tourist path to the top was named after him. Unfortunately, the simple timber tower was to a great extent damaged by the large numbers of tourists and had to be pulled down only 13 years after its creation. Soon afterwards, however, a new tower was built in its place. It was of an unusual eight–sided construction with a viewing platform for twenty people. However, even this tower could not satisfy the demands of thousands of view–hungry tourists and in 1902 it had to be closed and pulled down due to the damage caused by overuse and bad weather conditions. Apparently, its timber was used for the traditional, solstice–celebrating bonfire. From the end of the 19th century, the members of the Mountain club were dreaming of a new, large Ještěd cottage. It was planned in a grand style; it was even suggested to build it in the manner of a castle, including turrets and ramparts. Construction on such a scale would have been too financially demanding, and the owner of the land – Earl Glass–Gallas – would not have a castle built on the top of the mountain, so this romantic idea was not realised.
   In the end, the Mountain Club favoured the scheme of the Liberec industrialist E. Schafer, which proposed a simple, half–wooden building with a 28–metre–high stone viewing tower. Albeit reluctantly, and under very strict conditions, Earl Clam–Gallas agreed to the construction of this building. However, the money for the construction was not easy to get. The Club collected money from various sources, fell into debt and sold shares in the project. The foundation stone was laid in June 1906. Half a year later the New Ještěd House was open to the public. The building was considered to be one of the most modern mountain cottages of the time. It used to be open all year round and offered its services to more than four hundred visitors. There were 23 rooms, a glazed veranda, a student dormitory, gas lighting and central heating. Only later, in 1909, would water be led to the cottage from six springs below the peak through boldly constructed piping.
nocni jested
Ještěd at night
   Ještěd House was mainly visited by Germans. In"those ethnically–tense times, Czech tourists judged this building to be esthetically offensive and preferred to visit the inns at"Pláně, Rašovka and Proseč. The restaurant on"top of"Ještěd was, however, the best in the area. Right from the start it was run by Ladislav Grund, the ex–boss of"the"Zlatý Lev hotel, where in"1906, he received a medal with precious stones from Emperor Franz"Joseph"I. Together with his wife, a"cook and the daughter of the inn–keeper of"Luž cottage, he served the tourists in"his wooden inn furnished with simple and elegant tables covered with white tablecloths.
   In 1945, Ještěd House was briefly maintained by the Czech Tourist Club, and later taken over by a company called „Restaurace Liberec“. The cottage was an inseparable part of the mountain silhouette until 1963, when, to the great dismay of all tourists and the lovers of Ještěd Mountains, it burnt down. The cause of the fire was found soon afterwards – it started during the defrosting of the piping. Even a brave attempt to transport fire extinguishers to the top by cablecar did not help. Only a charred ruin with severely damaged brickwork was left. In the time of the fire, Ještěd was already an important telecommunications spot, so a temporary broadcasting station was erected next to the Ještěd Cross and the top stop of the cablecar. It is worth mentioning that during the Soviet occupation in 1968, it was this very station that the actor Jan Tříska and the future president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel spoke from. This fact is commemorated by a memorial plate on the last remnants of the original broadcasting station.
   Three years after the fire, the construction of a new mountain hotel with its television transmitor was started. Many a visitor considers the shape of a rotated hyperbolid to be unique. Soon afterwards, and despite the disfavour of the goverment, the designer of the new hotel, Karel Hubáček, became well–known worldwide and received the Perrets prize. For its time, the construction of the building and the interiors were also approached in an untraditional way. This was the work of Zdenek Patrman and Otakar Binar – designers who were to be in the future somewhat overshadowed by K. Hubáček’s success. The choice of materials was quite adventurous: the concrete–steel core consisting of two pillars anchors not only the anthennae poles, but also the individual floors and the aluminium–steel coat. Soon after the project was finished, the designers experienced many a difficult moment, especially when, due to strong wind, the whole building started to rock and threatened to break in its upper part. For all future blustery days, this problem was solved using a concrete wight of more then half a ton, which reduced the oscillation. It was mainly glass that was used for the construction of interiors – a  material traditionally used in this area.
   However, other monuments used to stand on top of Ještěd, apart from the cottages and the age–old cross. One of them – a massive obelisk sitting on top of quartzite rock near the hotel – has survived to the present day. In 1820, the southern part of Ještěd and the whole estate of Český Dub were bought by Prince Rohan. It was he who had a pointed pole with his family’s coat–of–arms placed on the top of the mountain. In those times, Ještěd formed a natural border of the Rohan and Clam–Gallas estates. As an old parish chronicle in Světlá mentions, in 1838 the Rohan Stone was erected on top of Ještěd. Apart from marking the estate borders, it also commemorates a visit of Adela Rohan, who ascended to the top in the same year. Another of the monuments was a stone marking an old Austro–Hungarian trigonometric system from Franz Joseph’s times. It bore an inscription – Operatio astr. trigon. imperante Francisco Josephe I. However, it has disappeared from Ještěd. It is possible that it was destroyed during the construction of the hotel and the transmitter. Thanks to its location, the top of the mountain was an important point of the trigonometric net. In the place of today’s top cross, there used to stand an exceptionally big wooden triangle.

   Karel Hubáček – the creator of Ještěd’s silhouette
   Doc. Ing. arch., Dr.h.c. Karel Hubáček was born on 24 February 1924 in Prague. In 1949 he finished his studies of architecture at ČVÚT (Czech Technical University). From 1951 he worked in Stavoprojekt Liberec, and later he became a director of the architectural office SIAL.
hubacek
He has obtained several prizes, including the Perett’s prize (1969). His transmitter on top of Ještěd was also awarded the title "Czech building of the 20th century;". Apart from that he designed Liberec shopping centre Ještěd (together with M. Masák – 1968–1979), a radio transmitter in Aden–Yemen (together with D. Vokáček and Z. Patrman, 1974–1977) the water tower Dívčí Hrady in Prague (1972–1977) and a concert hall in Teplice (1977–1986).
   The architectural story of Ještěd is very interesting. There was a design competition for the new hotel and transmitter. The original plan was for "a television tower and a restaurant with a small hotel", which meant two buildings on top of Ještěd. However, K. Hubáček designed only one and so did not satisfy the conditions. The architect Miroslav Ulmann, one of the creators of Liberec’s urban face, said about this competition: "Architects never agree on the utilization of space; Ještěd was the only exception. The committee immediately and unanimously agreed with the idea of Karel Hubáček." Karel Hubáček himself added: "I expected them to kick me out for it. But they didn’t. Nowadays I wouldn’t be so lucky. It’s enough to use a different coloured pen and you might be disqualified. The original idea just sprung out of me. I was looking at Ještěd and knew straightaway what I had to draw. I knew I had to extend the mountain and give the transmitter the shape of a cone for the winds to slide off its surface. Ještěd is an incredibly blustery mountain and a classic wall would serve much worse."
   The most difficult task was the technical solution of the construction – all receivers/antennae that usually stick out on other transmitters had to be placed on the inside of the building, and therefore a special laminate coating had to be developed. It was rather problematic to calculate the total load–carrying capacity of the building. In the end, the calculations were finished by Zdeněk Patrman. The Academy of Science carried out special research on some of the new technical ideas developed during the construction of Ještěd. Many of the techniques had never been used before. Some things were made as prototypes – for example, receivers/antennas were placed under a plastic coat. This coat, which is supported by 12m–high plastic poles, was finally made in a factory producing fishing rods. Karel Hubáček explained: "They had to knock a hole into the factory as it was too small. They have done a great job. They took an interest in it. Everyone involved was actually stepping over their own shadow."

   Regular ascents to the top – a Hundred Competition
   The most peculiar event organised in connection with Ještěd was the Hundred Competition. The participant’s only and simple goal was, in the shortest possible time, to ascend a hundred times to the top of the mountain. The tourists of that time took the competition very seriously. They did not ascend only a hundred times; they made successful attempts to obtain badges for a thousand or even five thousand ascents, even in the times when it was already possible to get to the top comfortably by cablecar (after 1933).
   The example for those enthusiastic tourists was set by the Liberec resident Adolf Trenkler, who in 1900 began making daily ascents to the top as his way of slimming down, and went on to achieve a remarkable two thousand ascents. Despite malicious tongues saying that making regular ascents to the top is an illness caused by a virus that in the end lands tourists in a lunatic asylum, the number of the mountain’s lovers was steadily growing. After the building of the large Ještěd cottage had been finished at the beginning 20th century, the tradition was continued by the German Mountain Club of Ještěd and the Jizera Mountains that organized the Hundred Competition. Every competitor had his own beer glass with his name and the number of ascents achieved at the bar on the top of Ještěd. The competitors would also obtain highly–prized badges. Between the two world wars this competition became a popular pastime of the local tourists. Surprisingly enough, many of the most successful competitors were women. It sounds almost unbelievable that during 1937, Lilly Flassak made an ascent to the top 709 times. The absolute record was held by another woman – Frieda Mandelikova – who, in 1937, ascended 5000 times. In 1922, Rudolf Kaushka and his companions made 12 ascents in a single day. It’s noteworthy that despite the cablecar being put into service in 1933, the efforts of the competitors did not cease. In 2000, the competition was renewed after more than a half century by the Ještěd–Jizera Mountain Club, and in 2003 the first winners were officially announced. Their badges and beer glasses are kept in the Ještěd hotel.

   About the cross on Ještěd
   It is an age–old habit to build crosses on the tops of hills. It is not known when the first cross was erected on Ještěd. The oldest mention of a cross on top of Ještěd appears in the chronicle of father Johann Carle Rohan dating from 1763: "1737: In this year, Lord Melchior Lorenz held the office of curator for the Liberec municipality. It was he who had a stone cross built on Geschkenberk." Melchior Lerenz, the curator for the Liberec municipality under Phillip Joseph, Prince of Gallas, did this apparently in memory of his relative, who at that time was undergoing treatment for a serious illness. The sandstone cross survived till 1812, when it was broken to pieces and thrown into the extensive quartzite sea under the top. Soon afterwards, however, it was re–erected. It is not clear whether the pieces of the broken cross were used or a new one was built in its place. In any case, an old tale has it that in 1828 the new Ještěd cross was destroyed yet again by foreign journeymen. According to the memorial book of Rohan’s Cottage for 10 May 1880, Adolf Hoffmann, a well–known industrialist, keen tourist and the initiator of the local mountain club, together with Leopold Ullrich, creator of a famous copperplate of the panoramic Ještěd view, found the remnants of the destroyed cross on the southern slopes. The stone, with its weathered inscription, was exhibited for many years, together with other artefacts and mountain curiosities in the old Ještěd cottage, where it was lost in the end. In 1834, a wooden cross was erected in place of the old stone one. However, even the magnificent consecration with the participation of masses of pious mountain–dwellers couldn’t save it from evil powers. On 28 April 1851, at exactly a quarter past five, there came a violent storm in the Ještěd Mountains and one flash of lightning shattered the cross. On 27 June 1853, a new wooden cross was erected in the same place at the expense of the villages of Horni Hanychov and Dolni Hanychov (Upper and Lower Hanychov). But Ještěd storms yet again proved to be stronger – in the spring of 1863 it was destroyed by a powerful tornado. Nevertheless, the persistent mountain–dwellers of Hanychov did not give up. In the same year, they built a new wooden cross with an iron figure of Christ. Five years after its consecration, in the spring of 1868, the cross was split into pieces by a windstorm. In the summer of that year the inhabitants of Hanychov had yet another cross erected. It is hard to tell if it was thanks to its consecration or rather because a lightning conductor was used that this time the cross survived for an unbelievable 67 years.
stary kriz
Old cross on the top of Ještěd
Some people might find it interesting that at the turn of the 19th century, the old innkeeper of Ještěd Hut, nicknamed by the "hundred" competitors and the lovers of the mountain "Mother Krusche", would go and pray at this very cross. Every Sunday between 10 and 11 in the morning, just when the crowds of tourist burst into her inn, she would put her head–scarf on and say to the surprised tourists in typical Liberec dialect: "Now I’m off to the church." She would then go to the cross and recite the Lords Prayer. Withered and scarred by the ever–present ice and frost, the cross would survive till the night of 19 January 1935, when the beams broke, the top part fell into the snow and the cast iron Jesus broke into three pieces. A copy of the destroyed cross was soon afterwards ordered by the German Mountain Club of Ještěd and the Jizera Mountains. Until the end of the 19th century this cross was considered to be the protector of Ještěd. With great effort it was erected during the blustery afternoon of Friday 31 May 1935. Perhaps thanks to the suffering of mountain–lovers during that windy and snowy day, when the temperature of the misty air reached minus three degrees Celsius, the oak cross would survive on the exposed symbolic place that Ještěd certainly is for many years. It witnessed not only the Second World War, when right next to it, lit–up, there stood a swastika, but also the post–war re–settlement of border land and the 50s when the establishment was not exactly supportive of religious monuments and crosses. This tenacious oak cross survived all historical pitfalls, and even the fire in the old cottage in 1963 and the extensive construction of the huge modern hotel would not damage it. Eventually it was human narrow–mindedness which broke its spine. As ordered by the communist leadership of Liberec, under cover of darkness on the night of 29th March 1981 the cross was cut down and taken to an unknown place. For many years a memento was left in its place – a log more than a metre high sticking out of the ground. In 1990, the cross was put back in its original form again. It was the people from the transmitter who re–erected it, together with the cablecar operators and the admirers of Ještěd’s genium loci who would later become members of Ještěd Friends club. Thirteen years later, its already weathered and twisted wood was treated by members of the Jizera–Ještěd Mountain Club and the surroundings were arranged as a viewing point and one of the last grassy places in the highest parts of the mountain.

   A Legend about a Tailor
   The most prominent rock on the very top of Ještěd is the Tailor, formerly known as the Hunchback, made of quartzite. Several versions of a story have survived explaining how the stone obtained such an unusual name.
   One day, a poor tailor set off from Osecna to Liberec for business. It was summer and the sun was scorching hot. The tailor was so exhausted by the hot weather and the tiring journey through the Jizera Mountains that he sat himself under a massive tree somewhere in the middle of the forest and fell asleep. He was soon awoken by strange voices. The tailor open his eyes and sat there transfixed. Nearby, there were two giants arguing with the devil. The devil set them a peculiar task – before a cock crowed, they were supposed to build him a mountain from which he could comfortably view all the surroundings. The giants promised and all of a sudden all three of them disappeared. The tailor was determined to spoil the devilish work.
   At night, he ascended the unfinished mountain and waited, hiding himself. As soon as he saw the approaching giants he imitated a cock’s crow. The giants, scared of the devil’s fury, dropped the last armful of stones. The biggest of them fell exactly on the spot where the poor tailor was hiding and the rock became the largest of headstones.
   Another version says that the tailor prevented mountain dwarfs from finishing the making of Krkonose (the Giant Mountains) and as a punishement the last of the stones was thrown on his head.
   The Tailor is also a climbing rock that was first acsended on 7th September 1890 by  W. Kahl and H. Scholze.

   Devils on Ještěd and the Ještěd goast
   According to well–known tales, three devils used to live on Ještěd in a smelly quartzite cave. The locals were scared of them and avoided the mountain. One day a strange rider came to the land under Ještěd and he managed to outwit the devils. It is said that he did not feel fear and was the first human to enter their stone den. First of all, the devils wanted to beat him to death. However, after a short chase, he managed to hold their attention by challenging their powers. He suggested that the following night he would ride his black horse from Ještěd to Bezděz (a castle) and the devils would build a wide ten–foot–tall black wall. If they didn’t catch up with him by the first cock’s crow, he would become the sole master of the land on both sides of Ještěd. Otherwise, his soul would fall into hell. The devils let themselves be persuaded and, as is usual in such stories, they lost. In one of the villages on the way to Bezděz, the rider imitated a cock’s crow and by doing so woke up the village cockerels, which prematurely welcomed a new day. The furious devils disappeared from their cave and never came back. Only a massive monument was left behind – a black basalt wall called Čertova zeď (Devils Rock) that apparently leads where the horse with the mysterious rider on its back galloped through.
   Another evil apparition on Ještěd used to be a wild chase lead by a Night Hunter. On stormy autumn nights, a pack of ghosts would fly over the whole ridge right to the peak of Černá studnice (Black Well). The Night Hunter on his fair horse and his pack of dogs would chase a white stag with a golden cross between its antlers. The chase went on and on but the stag could never be caught thanks to the protective powers of its cross. Old spruce trees would creak under the feet of the demons and even the wooden peak cross apparently became their victim. According to old chronicles, the chase was mostly observed in June 1890 and October 1895.
   In an old jasper cave on the north–west slopes of Ještěd a ghost named Jeschkengeist was supposed to live. The ghost was a protector of the mountains and was ofter pictured as a bulky mountain–dweller with a long beard and a wide hat, an appearance very similar to that of the more famous Krakonoš – the protector of Krokonose (the Giant Mountains). He was believed to appear when when there was imminent danger. This ghost was a personification of the mountain – at the end of the 19th century, the peak would be painted in a very romantic form – as a bearded man, Grandfather Ještěd.