Štěpánka is one of our most beautiful lookout towers. And even though it has much in common with the Jizera Mountains, it is actually located in the Giant Mountains National Park. The regional administrator, Archduke Stephan (Štěpán), visited our region in 1847 and was impressed by the magnificent view from the peak of Hvězda. Count Kamil Rohan, who was accompanying him, decided to build a lookout tower on the peak and to name it Stephanshöhe (Stephan’s Height) in honour of this distinguished visitor. However, construction work was halted after some time and it was only completed 45 years later by the local mountain association. The view from Štěpánka stretches from the Jizera Mountains, including the Polish section of these mountains, across the Giant Mountains and into the Lusatian Mountains and it is even possible to see the distant Elbe Sandstone Rocks. www.jizerkyprovas.cz/cs-stepanka

– height above sea level: 958 m, the Příchovice Ridge