Horšovský Týn has a new lookout tower on Šibeniční Hill

Horšovský Týn (Domažlicko) - A wooden observation tower about twenty-one meters high with five platforms offers views of the panorama of Horšovský Týn in Domažlicko, the nearby and distant surroundings from today. The prism-shaped structure with a cross on top stands on Šibeniční Hill, where executions used to take place and where a pilgrimage chapel stood a hundred years ago. The observation tower was built by the association for its construction after six years of effort, said its head Luděk Thomayer today to ČTK.
    "The observation tower offers beautiful views. The border mountains are visible - the entire Šumava and Czech Forest, Horšovský Týn and Sedmihoří. The most beautiful view is of the Czech Forest from Čerchov to Přimda," he described. Although the lookout terrace of the tower is only about 13 meters high, due to the hill it stands about one hundred meters above the level of Horšovský Týn.
    The construction cost 1.5 million crowns, of which 990,000 crowns was obtained by the association from the EU. The rest was covered by grants from the city and sponsors. "The city is the largest sponsor, we contributed 150,000 crowns by the decision of the council," said Mayor Josef Holeček. Citizens could also financially participate in the construction by symbolically buying one step for 1,500 crowns.
    In addition to the construction itself, the funds were also sufficient for an exhibition inside the tower, which recalls chapels, crosses, wayside shrines, farmsteads, mills, and pilgrimages in the vicinity of Horšovský Týn. The association also prepared a nature trail with six stops that explains the history of the town and crafts, the capital punishment on Šibeniční Hill, the history of the brewery in the town, the nature of the Perina forest, describes the construction of the tower, the former chapel, and the Lourdes pilgrimage tradition, added the mayor.
    The observation tower stands in the place where the pilgrimage chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes used to be; its foundation plan is newly marked on the hill. The chapel was established after 1910, when a pilgrimage to the French Lourdes affected the local believers so much that they decided to build a sanctuary as well. Soon it became a pilgrimage site. The last big pilgrimage took place in 1939. After that, the church fell into decay. In the mid-60s, soldiers from a nearby military shooting range detonated the already devastated building.
    Thanks to the observation tower on Šibeniční Hill, the Plzeň Region is richer with another place offering views from heights. According to the tourist portal of the region turisturaj.cz, there are almost forty lookout towers and observation points in the region, with more being created.
    At the end of last year, a twenty-seven-meter observation tower was opened on Sedlo Hill near Sušice after several years of efforts by enthusiasts for 6.5 million crowns; this summer, a new thirty-meter observation tower is expected to be opened on Chlum near Chanovice in Klatovsko for almost three million crowns. A study for the construction of an observation tower at the lookout point of Saint Margaret in Dlažov is being prepared in Kdynsko, and the Rokycany town hall would like to build a tower on Kotel Hill near the town.