WebCamLive - Webcam - Weather - Kleť, Šumava Foothills - Kleť

Kleť (German: Schöninger), with an elevation of 1,083 m above sea level, is the highest mountain of the Blanský Forest, which is part of the Šumava Foothills. It lies 6 km northwest of Český Krumlov and 18 km southwest of České Budějovice. On the northwestern slope of the mountain there is the Kleť Nature Reserve, where natural beech woods with silver fir and scree forests of higher elevations are protected. This reserve has preserved an original beech forest—primeval woodland—of the kind that occurred in many places in Central Europe’s foothill regions. At the summit stands Josef’s Tower, the oldest stone observation tower in Bohemia, completed in 1825. In favorable weather it offers views as far as the Alps, to Lipno, or the Temelín power plant. Next to the tower stands Terezie’s Lodge with a restaurant, and nearby are the highest-placed sundials in Bohemia. A short distance below the summit stands the observatory, which ranks among the world’s leading facilities in the study of asteroids.