Tips for trips > Pec pod Sněžkou

The town of Pec pod Sněžkou is one of the most well-known and most frequented mountain resorts in the Czech Republic, with yearround use. It lies in the valley of the river Úpa and the brooks Zelený and Luční, set in resplendent natural surroundings amid the peaks Č erná hora (Black Mountain –1 799m above sea level), Jelení vrch (Stag Peak -I.024 m (, Liščí hora (Fox Mountain – I.363 m), Studniční hora ( 1.553 m), and Sněžka. Sněžka (Snow Mountain), on the border with Poland, is at 1.602 m the highest peak in the Czech Republic. Included in Pec pod Sněžkou are the neighboring village of Velká Úpa, as well as many mountain settlements and a wilderness area reaching high onto the ridges. The name of the town comes from the building of ovens (pece) for the smelting of iron, arsenic,and copper ores. which were mined in Obří důl (Giant's Mine) from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Pec pod Sněžkou became a popular tourist centre after World War I, and the original mining camp was gradually changed into a hub of tourist activity. The construction of two segments of the chair-lift Pec-Růžová hora-Sněžka in 1948–50, and the following construction of a system of ski-lifts and downhill skiing runs,were landmarks in the further development of the town. Pec pod Sněžkou is the natural centre of the eastern Krkonoše, with relatively good facilities and its own inimitable atmosphere which no tourist should miss.