Frenštát pod Radhoštěm | stránky informačního centra

History and present day life of the town

Frenstat pod Radhostem (meaning Frenstat below Mount Radhost) is situated in the Moravian and Silesian Beskyd Mountains in the valley of the Lubina, Lomna and Bystre rivers in the north east part of The Czech Republic. Frenstat pod Radhostem was settled in about 1300 but was not officially recognised as a town until 1781.

The town centre is made up of a conventionally-shaped square with a pillared arcade, St.Martin's and St.John's Baptist churches close to the square, also the historical boys' school built in 1876, a polyclinic and two shopping centres called Kycera and Javornk ( the names come from two well known mountains nearby the town). An important building looking down on the town square is the Town Hall, built in 1891. Here you can find the Town Council, original statues by frenstat´s artists and the Tourist Board. As well, a memorial plaque proudly commemorates Jiri Raska's Olympic gold medal win in ski jumping at Grenoble in 1968. A stone fountain with Neptune's statue, a column dedicated to Our Lady and two baroque statues decorate the square. The town square is surrounded by buildings constructed in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries for accommodation and shopping. Behind their well-preserved facades you can find lovely pubs, shops and modern facilities such as banks, the post office and so on. The Church of St.John the Baptist (also called The Upper Church), originally early baroque was rebuilt in late gothic style at the beginning of the 17th century. There we can find fourteen remarkable Stations of the Cross painted and mounted by Albin Polasek, one of the most famous of the local artists. Opposite the church is situated Polasek's bronze sculpture called The Struggle between Good and Evil. The sculpture by another local artist called The Freedom Memorial is also located behind the church. The Church of St.Martin (also called The Lower Church) built close to the square was rebuilt after fire in 1661. Here you can see St.Barbara's Chapel and St.John's Chapel. One of the most beautiful decorations is a painting called The Wallachian Madonna and also The Wallachian Bethlehem by Jan Knebl. Frenstat pod Radhostem is called The Czech Cradle of Hiking. The hiking club called "Pohorska Jednota Radhost" was founded in 1884 and has helped to open up the most beautiful parts of the Beskyd Mountains. Locally there has been a long tradition of sporting activity such as skiing, volleyball, football and horse riding. The town offers many facilities such as skiing slopes in the Pustevny area, extensive cross-country skiing, a ski-jumping area at Horecky both for winter and summer. An ice stadium and tennis courts you can find near Hotel Sport. There are also the summer recreational water reserve of Siberia, a covered swimming pool near the town centre, a skittle (bowling) alley at the Střelnice pub, a shooting range at Marek or a horse riding area at Nivy in the town.