1#

Tower Háj near city Aš

The granite lookout tower offers breathtaking views of the surroundings. You can see the town of Aš and the nearby and more distant surroundings. What visitors can see is revealed by the copper plates in the eight highest windows of the tower. You can see not only the Green Mountain near Cheb, 20 kilometres away, but also Špičák in Sumava, seventy kilometres away, and Klínovec in the Ore Mountains, six kilometres away. The nearby Wartberg or Kornberg mountains, and even the highest mountain in the Saxon part of the Ore Mountains, the Fichtelberg, can be seen without any problems. The unmissable lookout tower rises to a height of 34 metres above the Háj peak at an altitude of 758 metres.

The first visitors climbed the 122 steps in late 1903, and the magnificent structure was inaugurated on 19 June the following year. The project, which won a prestigious prize at the Dresden Art Exhibition in 1901, was designed by the Dresden architect Wilhelm Kreis. An impressive amount of 66 cubic metres of granite blocks, about 65,000 bricks and nearly 60 wagons of lime were used for the construction. The craftsmen completed the construction of the monumental tower in a record time of 13 months.

The view from the top of Háj Hill On the top floor of the Aš tower, we can observe the surrounding landscape through eight glass windows. Orientation is greatly facilitated by the aforementioned copper plates on the parapets with directions and distances of the surrounding hills and towns.

• North view - Looking northwards, you can see the Saxon towns of Bad Elster and Adorf and then Schöneck with the highest railway station in Saxony. You can also see part of the nearby town of Hranice. Just a little further away are the Saxon towns of Oelsnitz and Plauen.
• Northeast - If we turn our view to the northeast, we can see the peaks of the Ore Mountains and also the highest mountain in the Czech part of this mountain range, 1244 m high Klínovec. Almost in the same direction is another prominent peak of the Ore Mountains on the German side, the Auersberg at 1018 metres above sea level.
• Southeast - A view of the peaks of the Slavkov Forest, such as the 983-metre-high Lesný Hill. A little further south you can see the majestic Dyleň Hill, which rises 940 metres above sea level.
• South - South of the lookout tower lies the Bavarian Hohenberg an der Eger, Arzberg or Marktredwitz.
• Southwest - To the southwest is the town of Schönwald or the 828-metre-high Kornberg.
• From south to west, the town of Aš can be seen like the palm of your hand.
• West - To the west lies the westernmost municipality of the Czech Republic, Krásná and the neighbouring Štítary. And just over the border is the Bavarian town of Rehau.

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2#

The ruins of the Neuberg castle in Podhradí

They immediately gave the castle back to the family of Neuberg. The castle was later damaged by the troops of King Charles IV when its owners used the strategic location of the castle, which was near trade routes leading to Saxony, to carry out acts of banditry there.

From the year 1344, all the assets belonging to the Neubergs lying in the Aš Rrgion were gradually bought up by the House of Zedtwitz, who were related to the family of Neuberg. Conrad of Zedwitz acquired the Neuberg Castle in the year 1395 after he married Hedvika of Neuberg. In the year 1422, the Zedwitz estate was granted independence from Cheb by King Sigismund of Luxemburg, perhaps as a thanks for their non-participation in the Hussite Wars. As a result of that, the way of living in the Aš region changed, especially with regard to religion. Lutheranism started to spread in the region and soon it gained a powerful influence. In the 15^th century, the Church of Good Shepherd was built near the castle and in year the 1610, the castle of Neuberg burnt down. Until then, it had served as the headquarters of the Zedwitz family who ruled the whole Aš headland. Then the Zedwitz split up and moved to new chateaus in Kopaniny, Doubrava, Smrčina and Podhradí. Materials from the ruined castle were used for the construction of the new chateau in Podhradí, which was located in the close proximity of the Neuberg castle.  The original appearance of the castle is not known. Only a 22-metre high tower standing on a 29,5-metre high headland has been preserved. The circumference of the tower is 19.2 meters.

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3#

Textile Museum in Aš

The Museum in Aš is currently a part of a contributory organization of Library, Museum and information centre of Aš which was established by the municipality of Aš on 1st January 2013.

The museum continues a rich history of museum tradition in Aš from the period of Austro-Hungarian Empire and the First Czechoslovak Republic. The Museum in Aš was founded in 1892. The main exposition included ceramics products, furniture, national costumes, weapons, pictures, books and collections that were donated by the citizens of the town. The exhibition was constantly expanded thanks to the donations given by the local citizens and factory owners. The present appearance of the museum dates back to the year 1966 when it was moved to the renovated building of a “castle” which was an Empire style building built by a factory owner Klaubert on the site of a burnt-down Zedtwitz castle on Nicholas Hill.  

At the end of 2008, both textile and historical exhibition were removed due to the museum relocation and reconstruction which was carried out as part of the “Revitalisation of Nicholas Hill” – a project financed by the municipality of Aš and the EU. At present, negotiations with partners in Saxony concerning the co-operation in obtaining money from European funds are underway. In co-operation with the Museum of Mylau (Museum Burg Mylau), the municipality of Aš is going to apply for funds to set up the exhibition called “Meetings and exhibitions – project of co-operation between the Aš and Mylau museums” which is going to be placed in the former library and fire station in Poštovní Square. In co-operation with the cultural centre of the town of Plauen, the municipality of Aš is going to apply for funds to organize the Textile Exhibition located on Nicholas Hill (Mikulášský Vrch).

The museum in Aš keeps a central register of stone crosses and wayside shrines in the Czech Republic and it also maintains a regional register of border and boundary markers as well as basic documentation of horizontal water plants. The Society for the Research of Stone Crosses, which is part of the museum in Aš, organizes a meeting of voluntary contributors and researchers who are interested in the issue of minor monuments. The event is held annually on the last weekend in September. In year the 2003, the 20^th anniversary meeting of the Society was held: it was also a record in the number of participants, having been attended by 85 researchers including foreign guests from Poland, Germany and Slovakia. The participants exchanged their experience and knowledge concerning minor monuments. The register of minor monuments currently contains 2,100 records of stone crosses, 1,400 records of minor monuments and 930 records of border markers. There is also an extensive library containing literature about minor monuments and the library contains 1,450 items. 

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4#

Town hall

The Baroque building from 1733, built as the administrative center of the Zedtwitz estate, was destroyed by fire in 1814 and rebuilt between 1815 and 1816 according to plans by Angelus Pleffer from 1733. In 1885, the building was raised by a second floor and rebuilt into a pseudo-Renaissance form. After 1945, a museum was located here, later a city library. In 2003, the building was repaired and returned to its original purpose.

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5#

Goethe Square

The frequent stops of J. W. Goethe in Aš during his travels to Bohemia in the years 1806 - 1823 first led to the construction of a memorial plaque, which was located at the Pošta Hotel on the square. In 1932, a monument with a fountain was unveiled in the middle of the square. The author of the sculpture is J. Watzal. The reliefs on the pedestal represent scenes from Goethe's works. On the north side are the dates of Goethe's stops in Aš. The statue of Goethe is now located in the newly revitalized Goethe Square. The only depiction of Goethe in the Czech Republic with a mineral in hand. Thanks to the time TRIP application, which you can download to mobile devices or tablets, you can travel through time. Take a walk to Goethe Square in the early 20th century and prepare to meet J. W. Goethe, Gustav Geipel, Konrad Henlein, or a mythical figure called Nahřbetskoč.

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6#

Ethnographic Museum

The ethnographic collection of the Aš Museum is currently presented in the sensitively reconstructed premises of the former city library in the listed building No. 635 (the so-called "fire station") on Poštová náměstí. Visitors will learn not only about the history of the city and its surroundings, but also where the city took its name and why three graylings appeared in the city emblem. Part of the exhibition is devoted to the history of the former owners of the Aš-Neuberg estate, the lords of Neuberg and Zedtwitz, and the religious conditions in the region.

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Evangelical Church of the Good Shepherd

First there was a church from 1480 - 1490, built by the Zedtwitzs. Later, this nobility had the church rebuilt in the Baroque style, as its dimensions no longer suited the level of the Zedtwitz Podhrad estate and its capacity was already insufficient. Of the original church, only the tower remains. The tower of the church is square in the foundations, then octagonal on the floor. It is decorated with an onion-shaped dome. His nave is rectangular with a high roof, with small chapels on both sides. The interiors are wooden. No nails were used for their production, but pins. The interiors are decorated with a painting of angels by Rodius von Föslau from 1711. The altar and choir benches by Jindřich Šimon Zietler from Doubrava date from 1710. Of interest is the painting of the castle in the aedicule. It is assumed that this is the oldest depiction of the now defunct castle in Kopaniny.

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8#

The former church of St. Trinity

It was one of the most important historical monuments in Aš. It was built between 1747 and 1749 on the site of the original church from 1622. The nave had about 1,000 seats and, together with benches on three wooden galleries, the church provided space for 2,500 people. The Baroque altar of J. S. Zeitler from 1754 and the large organ from 1911 were among the most valuable furnishings of the church. During the repairs in January 1960, there was a fire in the church, which burned down completely within three hours. Later, the masonry of the tower was demolished. In 2003, the outline of the church foundations was marked with a wall and provided with a wooden cross.

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9#

Fire station

The building has served the citizens of Aš since October 18, 1931. It was designed by architect Emil Rösler and served as a library and armory for the city's volunteer firefighters and rescuers. It was renovated in 2014 and the first floor now houses the Museum of Aš.

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10#

Paper mill Doubrava

An extraordinary document of paper production in the territory of Aš. History of paper mills in Aš until the 16th - 17th century. The set of fragments of the former paper mill consists of the foundation of the paper mill buildings, a water drive, a stone grinding wheel, a Dutch Dutch tank dated 1750 and pulp mixing vats. The discovery of this monument took several years, in 2015 it was ceremoniously opened.

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11#

Memorial of Dr. Martin Luther

It is the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic

The memorial was unveiled in 1883 to commemorate the 400^th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. The author of the two-metre statue is J. Rössner from Nuremberg. The statue is located in the vicinity of an evangelical church and was cast in an art foundry in Nuremberg and the pedestal was made in the neighbouring town of Selb.

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12#

City cemetery

Already the only cemetery in Aš. The original chapel was demolished in the 1990s and was replaced by a mourning chapel. In the cemetery there is a memorial of the Prussian-Austrian war from 1866 and a memorial of World War II. On the spray paddle there is a statue "Nature" from 1985, the author of this statue is Jaroslav Bocker.

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13#

Stone bridge

The height of the arch is 3,2 meters and the overall height of the bridge up to the upper edge of the guardrail is 6.5 meters. The bridge is equipped with brick railing and the width of the bridge deck is 3.5 meters. The bridge was built in the year 1724 as a part of the cemetery expansion. After the local evangelical church burnt down (1960) and was demolished, the cemetery was shut down and as a result the bridge was not used anymore and lost its function. (the bridge is located about 50 meters from the Memorial of Martin Luther. 

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Church of St. Nicholas

The Roman Catholic Church was built near the site of the original late Baroque church from 1780 by the Franciscan architect K. Weidemann in the years 1867 - 1871 as a single-nave building with a transept and a 48-meter-high western tower. A memorial plaque from the original building is set in the north wall.

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15#

Salva Guardia

It is a stone relief with an imperial coat of arms and coats of arms, made on the basis of the right granted to the Zedtwitzs in a warrant from 1724. The coat of arms is a symbol of the city's liberation from compulsory army accommodation and possible looting. The relief was previously placed in the arch of the castle gate. After the fire, it was removed by the new owner and in 1892 it was built into the corner pillar of the garden of today's museum.

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16#

Beneš's stickleback

Benešův palouček is located on the outskirts of the city, right at the state border, near the border bollard 17/15. The place where Dr. Edvard Beneš illegally crossed the state border on September 1, 1915 during his dramatic escape from the c. And k. Monarchy under prof. Masaryk to Switzerland. The place where the history of independent Czechoslovakia began to take shape is today perfectly hidden from the sight of a casual observer. It is shrouded in wildlife, which prevailed in this border zone after 1951, at a time when the border was being wired by the communist regime. Why did Beneš start planning an escape from the monarchy at the age of 31? The reason is simple. He was threatened with arrest every day for his illegal activities in the domestic resistance organization Maffie. Several of his co-workers have already been caught by the police. Now it was his turn. The death penalty for high treason hung in the air. He visited Aš at the end of August 1915. Where he met his classmate and teammate from Prague's Slavia, Dr. Amerling. At that time, he stayed in Aš as a doctor in a military infirmary, located in the building of the Aš grammar school (now Okružní primary school and kindergarten), only about a kilometer away from the Bavarian border. 

Word got out and the trip was planned down to the smallest detail. Dr. Amerling, an army and army officer, was known to occasionally go to nearby Bavarian black beer pubs. He knew the path well, as did the movement of the Bavarian and Austrian border guards. On the first day of September, Dr. Beneš to Aš again. At noon on September 1, Dr. in a walking uniform goes out. Amerling dirt road towards the Bavarian border. He is followed by an inconspicuous man with a hat, hand luggage, backpack and fake passport - Edvard Beneš. Dr. Amerling holds a book in his hand, and if it hits the Bavarian patrol, he opens it behind his back. This is a signal for Beneš to hide. The nearest Bavarian railway station in Schönwald is a few kilometers away via forest roads. A Bavarian gendarme suddenly appears on the road, Beneš disappears in the undergrowth. Dr. Amerling lures the gendarme away, when he later returns to the meeting place, he no longer finds Beneš. In time, he received a ticket from Beneš that he had safely got to Hof by train, and from there via Munich to Geneva, Switzerland. In the spring of 1947, a commemorative still life was created on this site. A small coat of arms made of crushed stone, surrounded on three sides by a clay rampart, at the head of which a memorable date was drawn from a black and white mosaic. 1915

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17#

Villa Gustav Geipel

The villa was built in 1888 according to the plan of the Köhler & Pscher company, it was built by Gustav Geipel - the factory owner and patron of Aš. After his death, it was bought by the Fischer factory family.

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18#

Monument to Gustav Geipel

The monument was built in 1924, its author is Johannes Watzal. The monument is dedicated to the burgher of Aš and benefactor Gustav Geipel. In 2014, it was reconstructed to its original form, including a relief by Gustav Geipel.

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19#

Monument to Theodor Körner

The monument was unveiled in 1913 on the 100th anniversary of the death of T. Körner (* 1791 † 1813). In September 2013, SUPŠ created a new bust of T. Körner in Český Krumlov. Körner was an important German poet and soldier.

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20#

Monument to Friedrich Ludwig Jahn

The monument was unveiled in 1909 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the existence of the Aš Physical Education Association. F. L. Jahn (* 1778 † 1852) was the founder of the physical education unit and in Germany he was called the father of gymnastics. In September 2013, SUPŠ created a new bust of F. L. Jahn in Český Krumlov.

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21#

Monument to Friedrich Schiller

The monument is dedicated to the famous German poet and friend J. W. Goethe. The memorial was unveiled in 1905. It consists of a memorial plaque and a relief with the face of F. Schiller. The monument was restored in 2014.

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