In Lanškroun, a playing lookout tower could be built

Lanškroun (Orlickoústecko) - A new observation tower is set to be built on Mariánská hora near Lanškroun. The Association of Municipalities of Lanškroun aims to construct it there, as reported in today’s edition of Mladá fronta Dnes in its supplement for the Pardubice Region. According to one of the proposals, the structure should surpass the existing observation towers in the region. Besides providing a view of the landscape, it should also serve as a giant musical instrument.
"It could be more appealing to tourists than a regular observation tower," said Lanškroun mayor Martin Košťál to the newspaper. The municipalities' association wants to build the observation tower at the pilgrimage site Mariánská hora near Dolní Čermná, where there is a Stations of the Cross, a church, and a loretan chapel from 1864. According to the proposal by Lanškroun architect Přemysl Kokeš, the tower could also serve as a belfry, producing sounds similar to those of the loretan bells in Prague. It would play like a giant xylophone.
"Tourists could buy a wooden ball with an image of the tower upon arriving in the region. As a reward for climbing to the height of thirty-five meters to the tower, they could then drop their ball into a slot at the top. As the ball rolled down the track around the tower, it would clatter on metal or wooden plates like a xylophone or metallophone," Kokeš explained. He believes that the observation tower could become a tourist attraction that would draw even foreign tourists who are accustomed to only traveling to Prague.
The Lanškroun region aims to obtain funding for the tower from European funds. "The costs will range between three to six million crowns," stated the mayor of Lanškroun. The association of municipalities commissioned the design of the tower to Antonín Olšina, who is the author of the Terezka tower near Proseč and the tower in Vrbice near Kostelec nad Orlicí.