Sněžka is the highest mountain in Czechia. It lies in the eastern part of the Krkonoše (Giant Mountains), and the Czech–Polish state border runs across its summit.[1] The name derives from the adjective sněžná, meaning snow-covered.[1]*
Height
For a long time its height was given as 1,602 m above sea level, which is the height of the trigonometric point on the summit.[1] In February 2014 the surveyor Vladimír Hlavsa published a measurement according to which the highest point of the mountain lies at 1,603.3 m on Polish territory by the Chapel of St Lawrence, about 3.5 m from the state border.[2] According to the measurement, the highest point on the Czech side is ten centimetres lower.[1] The Land Survey Office then confirmed that Sněžka is 1,603 m high.[1] The result was announced by a spokesman of the Krkonoše National Park Administration (KRNAP).[2]
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Buildings on the summit
Pilgrims have been climbing Sněžka for more than 500 years. The oldest building on the summit is the Chapel of St Lawrence from 1681, the newest the Czech post office Anežka.[1] Since February 2014 a new cable car has run to the summit from Pec pod Sněžkou; its lower section ends at Růžová hora.[1][3]
Climate
Despite its modest altitude, the summit has an arctic, high-mountain climate that often differs from the weather in the rest of the Krkonoše.[3] On 1 October 2026 the Sněžka, Poštovna station recorded a gust of 36 m/s, about 130 km/h, at five in the morning. The wind reached hurricane force and the upper section of the cable car was closed.[3][4]
Chronology
- — Hurricane-force wind of more than 128 kilometres per hour was recorded on Sněžka; operation of the upper section of the cable car was suspended. → iROZHLAS Novinky.cz
Pages linking here
Sources
- Český rozhlas Hradec Králové — 26 February 2014
- Novinky.cz — 11 February 2014
- Deník.cz — 1 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 1 October 2026