Minigallery of lookout towers in Luhačovice

Stručná odpověď

Near the Spa Café on Pod Leštím street in Luhačovice, a permanent outdoor mini-gallery displays 3D models of notable Czech, Moravian, Silesian, and Slovak lookout towers. Created by the Jurkovič's World association, the exhibition aims to inspire visitors to seek out real viewpoints across the region.

Add variety to your stay in the spa town of Luhačovice with an interesting walk where a mini lookout tower exhibition awaits you at the end. Yes, that’s right. You don’t need to travel far to see unique structures that serve as viewpoints over the surrounding countryside up close. You’ll find a permanent mini-exhibition of 3D models of architecturally and geographically interesting Czech, Moravian, Silesian and Slovak lookout towers near the Spa Café on Pod Leštím street. It awaits you on the left side of the path. This unassuming mini gallery attracts hundreds of admirers of viewpoint structures.

No need to climb any hills

Unfortunately, there are no lookout towers to be found in the immediate vicinity of Luhačovice. Yet years ago, the town considered building a lookout tower on Komonec hill. Behind the creation of this unique exhibition stands the Jurkovič’s World association. The organisation was founded in 2006 with the aim of promoting the work of the renowned Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič. The mini gallery of lookout towers aims to connect with and develop the activities of another project. The wish is for visitors to Luhačovice to draw inspiration and set out to specific places to see real viewpoints. As the exhibition operator and association founder himself says. And there’s truly plenty to choose from. The vast majority of lookout towers are impressively tall and have various architectural forms.

Here you can encounter, for example, models of the lookout tower on Kelčský Javorník, the Salaš lookout tower behind Velehrad, which resembles two sevens interlocked together, or the Šrotík lighthouse, which you’ll find in the Kovozoo exhibition in Staré Město. Naturally, there’s also a representation of Dušan Jurkovič’s lookout tower from Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. Many will surely be surprised by information about the second lookout tower by the Slovak architect. It’s the Jirásek Tourist Hut with lookout tower in Dobrošov in the Náchod district. The exhibition also offers other interesting features. Such as a model of the Tokaj lookout tower resembling a wooden wine barrel from the Slovak-Hungarian border. A structure in northern Bohemia resembling a cucumber has an interesting history. As a curiosity, Luhačovice displays three lookout towers that don’t actually exist anywhere in reality. One of them is Pepčín castle, which was demolished in the 1980s. To this day, this remains a meeting place for people. Years ago, a lookout tower was to be built here. However, the plan fell through.

Dozens of hours of work

The gallery prides itself on having models that copy reality as faithfully as possible. Behind each mini lookout tower are dozens of hours of work with documentation and archival materials. The actual model is then created using a 3D printer. Emphasis is also placed on colour and textures. It’s a very time-consuming and expensive endeavour.

Kingdom of Lookout Towers Educational Trail

Right next to the unique lookout tower mini gallery, we find the Kingdom of Lookout Towers educational trail. It consists of a 109-metre-long path with 18 stops. It provides a cross-section of lookout towers from 14 Czech and 4 Slovak regions. In the middle stand two totems with 16 lookout tower imprints carved into them. The imprints are meant to represent a puzzle, where people have to match the outlines to specific lookout towers. For added interest, special viewfinders are placed here that indicate the real distance to specific locations.

Hlavička

Minigallery of lookout towers in Luhačovice