Radhošť is a mountain in the Beskids in eastern Moravia, with the Pustevny tourist centre in its saddle, featuring buildings by Dušan Jurkovič.
Radhošť is a mountain in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids in the eastern part of Moravia. In its saddle, at an altitude of 1018 metres, lies the Pustevny tourist centre, which is the subject of most of the surviving information about the place.[1]
Early settlement and place of pilgrimage
Pustevny takes its name from the hermits who lived here in the middle of the 18th century, at the height of Baroque piety. Until then the whole Radhošť massif was hard to reach and was visited only by the inhabitants of mountain sheepfolds and forest-fruit gatherers.[1] Social events of a religious nature on the mountain are documented only from the first half of the 18th century, when in the Baroque period efforts were made to mark even remote places with Christian symbols.[1]
Among the significant dates of building on the mountain, the year 1735 is given for the making of the Radhošť cross, and probably 1768 for the wooden chapel. A stone cross was raised in 1805 and erected again in 1808. The chapel of Saints Cyril and Methodius was consecrated in 1898.[1]
Tourist facilities
The development of tourism was connected with the association Pohorská jednota Radhošť, based in Frenštát and described as the oldest Czech tourist association. Its aim was to open up remote places in the Beskid mountains, mark trails and build a network of mountain hotels and lodgings. The association was founded in 1884, and in 1886 it bought a plot near a long-ruined hermitage.[1] In 1891 it built there the first tourist shelter, a single-storey wooden building with sixteen beds, a taproom and a shared dormitory, called Pustevňa.[1]
Further dates from the history of the buildings:[1]
In 1894 the second shelter, Šumná, and the Cyrilka lookout tower were opened. In the years 1897 to 1899 the dining hall Libušín and the hotel Maměnka were built, and in 1899 the Zvonice (bell tower) to a design by Dušan Samuel Jurkovič. The road from Trojanovice to Ráztoka was built in 1906 and in 1911 it was extended all the way to Pustevny. In 1926 the shelter Tanečnica was opened, in 1931 the statue of Radegast and the sculptural group of Cyril and Methodius were unveiled, and in 1933 the hotel Radegast was opened.
The work of Dušan Jurkovič
Libušín and Maměnka are wooden buildings in the folk style, designed by the Slovak architect Dušan Samuel Jurkovič and built by the master builder Michal Urbánek. They were created in the years 1897 to 1899 on the initiative of Pohorská jednota Radhošť, which carried them out gradually with its own resources.[1] In 1995 the Pustevny complex was declared a national cultural monument as a unique architectural and urban ensemble.[1]
Administration and present use
Since 1995 Libušín, Maměnka, Pustevenka and Zvonice have been administered by the Národní muzeum v přírodě, which includes the Wallachian Open Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. The hotel and the dining hall still serve their original purpose of accommodation and catering. According to the museum's page, the tenant of both buildings is the company Beskydy4all.[1]