| Praděd | |
| Elevation M: | 1491 |
| Location: | Czech Republic |
| Range: | Hrubý Jeseník |
| Coordinates: | 50.0833°N 17.2333°W |
| Map: | Czech Republic |
| Label Position: | bottom |
Praděd (in Czech pronounced as /ˈpraɟɛt/; German: Altvater; Polish: Pradziad; literally "great grandfather") is the highest mountain of the Hrubý Jeseník mountains, Moravia, Czech Silesia and Upper Silesia and is the fifth-highest mountain of the Czech Republic. The highest point of Moravia is located near the summit of Praděd; but the summit itself is in Czech Silesia.
The average annual temperature is about . A television transmitter is situated on the top, 162m (531feet) high. The upper platform is used as a watchtower. The mountain is also a popular area for skiing.
The first building on the mountain was a stone watchtower, 32m (105feet) high. It was built in 1903–1912 by the Sudeten German tourist association. After 1945, the tourist association no longer existed because all Germans were expelled. Due to its unmaintained condition in communist Czechoslovakia, with water freezing in cracks breaking it up, the watchtower collapsed 2 May 1959 shortly before it was supposed to get fixed.
The Petrovy kameny ("Peter's stones") is a gneiss stone formation near the peak. In the Middle Ages, people feared the place, believing witches lived there. The area is home to many rare plants, so it is not open to the public.[1]
The transmitter was built between 1968 and 1983. A restaurant is located in the building and can be reached by a paved road. The High Tatras, Malá Fatra Mts. and Alps can be seen from the watchtower platform.
On 27 February 1950 at 07:31 Československé státní aerolinie Douglas C-47A-15-DK on its way from Ostrava-Hrabůvka Airport to Prague Ruzyně Airport crashed into the side of Praděd mountain, killing 3 crew and 3 passengers. 25 others, including 21 passengers and 4 crew survived the accident.[2]
Praděd lies in the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area. The area of the peak and its surroundings is also specially protected as the Praděd National Nature Reserve. The protection was declared on 4 June 1955. With an area of, it is the largest national nature reserve in the country.[3]
The most important plant species that grow here are Poa riphaea, Campanula gelida, Plantago atrata subsp. sudetica, Dianthus carthusianorum subsp. sudeticus, and Carlina biebersteinii subsp. sudetica. Among the fauna, the rarest are the butterflies Erebia sudetica subsp. sudetica, Erebia epiphron subsp. silesiana, Sparganothis rubicundana, and Epichnopterix sieboldii.[3]
Praděd is located within the alpine climate zone (Köppen ETH).