Ratiboř

The possibility of obtaining funding for the construction of a lookout tower at Křížový has reappeared. There is a tourism development programme from which funding could be drawn. However, it is essential that the land on the top of Křížový belongs to the town of Vsetín. So we approached the mayor, Jiří Růžička, and offered the town of Vsetín a partnership in this project. The town accepted our offer and we agreed to take the project as a joint action. The town of Vsetín will provide the land, which is in the Ratiboř cadastre, and will participate equally in the construction and co-financing of the tower. The public will also be able to participate in financing the construction of the tower. We are planning an auction of individual steps and pre-sale of tickets for the opening ceremony. We will announce everything gradually.

With akad. arch. Libor Sošťák, we started updating the construction study. The project is being prepared for the application for a building permit. The town of Vsetín is also preparing the method of co-financing. All of this must be preceded by an amendment to the zoning plan, as the plot of land now designated for the lookout tower on Křížový Peak is in an unsuitable location with poor views. It is therefore necessary to move it to the city's plot. At the same time, Bata Forests, which owns the neighbouring plot, also agrees to the construction.

Triangular plan of the planned tower
View from the height of the planned lookout tower

For more information about the history of the tower project, please contact academ. arch. Libor Sost'ák:

History

In history, the area around the planned tower on Křížový vrch was connected with the great intentions of the Czech King Václav III. At the beginning of the 14th century, King Wenceslas III of Bohemia considered founding a Cistercian monastery, to be named "Thronus regis" (King's Throne), in order to strengthen the royal power and colonisation in these hitherto sparsely populated Moravian regions. The monastery was to be founded at the confluence of the Ratibořka stream and the Bečva river. In 1306, however, King Wenceslas III was assassinated in Olomouc and the grand plan was quickly abandoned.

Vsetín region and the Templars

There is no mention of a possible Templar guarding point on Křížový Hill in historical sources, as only two Templar documents relating to our region have survived. The first of them is a document from 1297, where it is recorded that a certain Protiva from Doubravice donated to the Templar master Ekko unspecified estates located on both banks of the river Bečva ("Beyc"), which he received from the king. From the second charter we know that the Templar Order briefly owned Vsetín and the surrounding countryside, which the Order began to colonize and built a simple castle nearby, Freundsberg. The castle ramparts are on a hill called Zámčisko on the Klenov ridge. This castle was taken over by Vok I of Kravaře, the owner of the Vsetín manor, from the Templar master Ekko in 1308. In practical terms, Křížový could have served as a watchtower for the Templars. Although the derivation of the name of the hill from the Templar straight-armed cross is mere speculation and legend, it is this legend that is the main impetus and inspiration for the creation of the form of the stone lookout tower resembling the tower of the supposed watchtower at this mysterious place.

Martin Žabčík / Mayor,
akad. arch. Libor Sost'ák / author of the project

The video below is a panorama from the height of the planned tower on 14 January 2020, when the land was surveyed and the most suitable location for the tower was selected.