The new post office on Sněžka is for sale for 25 million crowns

Pec pod Sněžkou (Trutnovsko) - The well-known wooden building post office Anežka at the top of the highest Czech mountain Sněžka in the Krkonoš Mountains is for sale. The asking price is 25 million crowns. Ctk informed today by real estate agent Světlana Véghová. The post office, which belongs to local entrepreneur Jaroslava Skrbková, has served the public since last August.
    Skrbková justified the sale with her decision to stop doing business and health reasons. "I want to end my business, retire and have peace. I regret it, but I no longer have the strength to continue. The post office has taken seven years of my life," Skrbková told CTK. The sale is managed by the Real Estate Company of Česká spořitelna.
    The construction of the post office, designed by architects Martin Rajniš and Patrik Hoffman, began in the summer of 2006 on the 1602-meter-high mountain with the modification of the foundations of the former Czech hut. The modern building is made of wooden parts reinforced with steel rods and is complemented by glass panels that cover hydraulically operated wooden shutters. The construction was accompanied by delays and disputes between the investor and the construction company. The project received its occupancy permit in September of this year after a year of preliminary use.
    Skrbková did not comment on the amount of her investment in the post office. According to earlier information from local media, the construction, with an area of 120 square meters, cost about ten million crowns.
    According to Véghová, there are interested parties in the post office, but so far they have been deterred by the price. However, according to the real estate agent, the business in the building is reportedly capable of generating profits in the order of millions of crowns annually. "It is a prestigious place that has the potential for even greater profit with better business use,” she said. In addition to postal services, the post office offers the sale of souvenirs and refreshments. There is an observation terrace on the roof, and a room for staff with a kitchenette and social facilities in the basement.
    According to the Krkonoš National Park, the new owner will have to respect strict nature protection conditions that were established when the construction was approved. "This is the most strictly protected area of the Krkonoš. We will not allow activities beyond the currently approved operation," said park spokesman Radek Drahný. He added that the land under the post office belongs to the park.
    The selection of the design of the new post office was accompanied by heated discussions years ago, with objections to the construction from the management of the Krkonoš National Park. Special permission for the construction had to be issued by the Ministry of the Environment.
    The original wooden old post office, also known as the Gingerbread House, was bought from Skrbková by entrepreneur Tomáš Trnka. With a group of enthusiasts, he dismantled it this summer, transported it, and reconstructed it on Javorová rock near the Monínec area in Sedlčanska. The removal of the old post office was a condition for the occupancy permit for post office Anežka.
    At the top of Sněžka, in addition to the post office, there is also a Polish observatory, the rotunda chapel of Saint Lawrence, and a stone trigonometrical obelisk. Just below the summit is the terminal station of the cable car from Pec pod Sněžkou.

Objects that stand or stood at the top of Sněžka:
   
Czech post office - It is the highest post office in the Czech Republic. The wooden building was built in 2007 on the modified foundations of the previous building - the Czech hut, which was demolished in 2004 due to its poor condition. The new building was designed by architects Martin Rajniš and Patrik Hoffman. The construction consists of wooden parts reinforced with steel rods and glass panels, which can be covered with wooden shutters. The post office seems to float above the ground, tethered only by a few pedestals.

Timber building of the original post office (1899 to 2009) - The first letters and postcards were stamped by the post office with a round stamp as early as September 1899. However, in 1938, after the German army occupied the Sudetenland, the post office closed and did not resume operations even after the war. Services at Sněžka were only revived in 1995 by the former postmaster from Velká Úpa, Jaroslava Skrbková. She repaired a small cottage for the post office, which had a refreshment kiosk in the 1930s. Skrbková was also the investor in the construction of the new building. The original post office was dismantled in June 2009 and now stands on Javorová rock near the Monínec area in Sedlčanska.

Czech hut (razed) - The dilapidated structure was closed in 1990 due to the discharge of contaminated wastewater, and demolition was carried out in 2004. The hut was built in 1868 by the innkeeper Herman Blaschke from Malá Úpa in Trutnovsko. Originally it was only meant to serve in the summer season. In 1884, 1900, and 1949, the building was gradually expanded with additional annexes and gained fame for its dance gatherings. The Czech hut also provided accommodation.

Chapel of Saint Lawrence - The rotunda chapel is the oldest building on Sněžka. The construction was carried out from 1665 to 1681, but the first works on the construction began as early as 1653. It was consecrated in 1681. After the abolition of the monasteries in Prussia, it served as an inn and dormitory until 1850, when the chaplain Friedrich Sommer from the Silesian Teplice built the first Prussian hut on the north side of the summit plateau, which burned down seven years later, just like the second Prussian hut, which was struck by lightning in 1862. Only the third hut on the same site served until 1967.
    In 1824, the chapel of Saint Lawrence was also supplemented by a basic trigonometrical point. The stone mound at the summit of Sněžka became one of the fundamental points of the network, which has served for almost 200 years for mapping purposes and for detecting the movement of the Earth's crust.

Meteorological station (razed) - The wooden building with an 18-meter-high tower was built in 1900. In 1976, meteorologists moved to the new Polish hut, and the building was demolished in the 1980s.

Polish hut (new) - The building with a meteorological station, consisting of three connected objects resembling flying saucers, began serving in 1976. The hut was built on the site of the original Prussian hut built in 1850, or the third Prussian hut, which served here until 1967. In March of this year, part of the Polish observatory reportedly collapsed under the weight of snow. The terrace of the upper saucer of the hut collapsed and slid onto the middle disk.

Upper station of the cable car - The chairlift from Pec pod Sněžkou has two sections. Passengers first rode from Pec pod Sněžkou to Růžová hora in January 1949, and the section to the summit was opened in November of the same year.