Lookout tower Háj u Aše

One of the towers of the Iron Chancellor

The Háj u Aše lookout tower (originally called Bismarckova rozhledna) rises on Háj hill in the Czech part of the Smrčina hills, about 1 km northeast of the town of Aš in the Aš promontory. It is one of the most beautiful lookout towers in the Czech Republic.

Aš lookout tower

Construction began on 22 September 1902, the foundation stone was laid on 18 October of the same year. The main structure was completed in October 1903, and the first visitors were able to view and climb the tower on 25 December after paying 10 thalers. The tower was officially opened on 19 June 1904. The construction cost 58,967 Austrian crowns and 666 m³ of granite blocks, 65,000 bricks, 58 wagons of lime and three wagons of cement were used. The tower is 34 m high and its base has a square plan measuring 6.7 × 6.7 m. In 1913, a bronze relief of Bismarck by Albrecht Gerold Sr. was placed at the side entrance, which was removed along with other references to Bismarck after 1945. The original name of the lookout tower was only until the establishment of Czechoslovakia (1918), when it had to be renamed "Rozhledna Háj" by order of the authorities.In 1909, the Winter Sports Association/Wintersportverein was founded at the initiative of the Aš section of the German and Austrian Alpine Association/Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein (DuÖAV). The association also took on the task of building a bobsleigh track from the top of Hainberg. The track was built by the association in the same year and measured 984.35 meters with a height difference of 117.5 meters. Written reports about the bobsleigh track appear until 1928. The Hainberghaus tourist hut and the entire summit area also became a popular place for skiing. The southern, western and eastern slopes of the hill were "made for skiers."