Lusatian seven hundred

Mountaineers have their eight-thousanders – mountains that are over eight thousand meters high. Climbing them used to be a prestigious affair, but in recent decades it seems that if you have enough money, Sherpas will take you up there so you can take pictures and brag on social media about how tough you are…

Here in the north we have seven-hundred-meter peaks. True, they are not as sky-high, but they are certainly worth your attention – if only because you will have to climb them yourself. And sometimes on quite breakneck paths, and you often don’t even get a dazzling view at the top, because it is overgrown with lush vegetation.

Of course, there are exceptions – and they are pretty well-known exceptions.

Jedlová (774 m above sea level) is famous for its lookout point, restaurant, and those of us who remember the old days used to learn to ski on the local ski slope. But there has been no snow in recent years.

Another easily accessible seven-hundred-meter peak is Luž (793 m above sea level). Here too, a lookout tower has been added, and you can have refreshments in Světlá.

Nearby, above Krompach, you will find a seven-hundred-meter mountain with two peaks – Hvozd (749 m above sea level). The border runs along the ridge, and the restaurant is on the German side.

Another famous 700m peak is Klíč (760 m above sea level) with a distinctive rocky sea and a view that takes our breath away and our courage, even for those of us who suffer from vertigo. Others can enjoy it to their heart’s content.

We’ll climb the other hills next time – our legs are already sore. But about ten years ago there was a race called the Lusatian Seven-Hour Mountain, where you had to climb all the peaks. The fastest managed it in just over four hours, while the slowest took an impressive ten hours.

By the way – while writing about these peaks, I remembered the excellent 1995 film The Englishman Who Climbed a Hill (and Came Down a Mountain). The story was about the residents of a small town in Wales believing that a mountain towered over their village. But the surveyors couldn’t figure it out – a mountain in Britain is considered to be one thousand feet high, or roughly 300 meters. But the villagers didn’t give up and built the necessary twenty feet up the hill to meet the standards…

This does not apply to us in the Lusatian Mountains.