Sněžka

Sněžka
Śnieżka, Schneekoppe
Sněžka from the west.
Highest point
Elevation	1,603 m (5,259 ft)
Prominence	1,203 m (3,947 ft)
Isolation	290 kilometres (180 mi)
Listing	Country high point
Coordinates	50°44′10″N 15°44′25″E / 50.73611°N 15.74028°E / 50.73611; 15.74028Coordinates: 50°44′10″N 15°44′25″E / 50.73611°N 15.74028°E / 50.73611; 15.74028
Geography
Sněžka Location in the Czech Republic, on the border with Poland
Location	Czech Republic and Poland
Parent range	Krkonoše
Climbing
Easiest route	tourist trails, cable car from Pec pod Sněžkou

Sněžka or Śnieżka (in Czech and Polish, Schneekoppe in German) is a mountain on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland, the most prominent point of the Silesian Ridge in the Krkonoše mountains. At 1,603 metres (5,259 ft), its summit is the highest point in the Czech Republic, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the Krkonoše and in the entire Sudetes.

Sněžka was one of the first European mountains visited by many tourists. This was mainly due to the relatively minor technical difficulties ascent and the fact that since the sixteenth century, many resort visitors flocked to the nearby Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój and highly visible Sněžka, visually dominant over all Krkonoše was for them an important attraction.

The first historical account of an ascent to the peak is in 1456, by an unknown Venetian merchant searching for precious stones. The first settlements on the mountain soon appeared, being primarily mining communities, tapping into its deposits of copper, iron and arsenic. The mining shafts, totalling 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in length, remain to this day.

The first recorded German name was Riseberg ("giant mountain", cf. Riesengebirge, "Giant Mountains"), mentioned by Georg Agricola in 1546. Fifteen years later the name Riesenberg appears on Martin Helwig's map of Silesia. The German name later changed to Riesenkoppe ("giant top") and finally to Schneekoppe ("snow top", "snowy head").

In Czech, the mountain was initially called Pahrbek Sněžný. Later Sněžka, with the eventual name Sněžovka, meaning "snowy" or "snow-covered", which was adopted in 1823. An older Polish name for the mountain was Góra Olbrzymia, meaning "giant mountain".

The first building on the mountaintop was the Chapel of Saint Lawrence (Laurentiuskapelle), built ca. 1665–1681 by the Silesian Schaffgotsch family to mark their dominion, serving also as an inn for a brief period of time. The territory including the mines were the property of the Schaffgotsch family until 1945. The so-called Prussian hut was built on the Silesian (now Polish) side in 1850, followed by the Bohemian hut on the Bohemian (now Czech) side in 1868, both built with the purpose of providing lodging. The Prussian hut was rebuilt twice after fires (1857 and 1862), and the (after 1945) "Polish hut" was finally demolished in 1967. The Bohemian hut fell into disrepair after 1990 and was demolished in 2004.