Holy Hostýn has been a well-known place of pilgrimage since the 19th century. In 1897 it was visited by Emperor Franz Joseph I, and a year later (1898) a stone lookout tower was built in his honour.

The lookout tower was festively opened on 14/9/1898 and served both as a lookout tower and a chapel. Its interesting ground plan is formed by two differently sized circles. In the larger one there is the chapel of the Holy Cross, and in the smaller one there is a staircase leading to the observation platform.

Above the platform there used to be a small wooden steeple with another gallery and a peaked roof. At the time of the First Republic the steeple was removed and the big gallery was covered with a roof.

In 1957 - 1971 the lookout tower served as a TV transmitter. In 1987 it was re-opened to the public. The gallery was furnished with windows and roofed. This appearance of the lookout tower has survived up to the present day.
the observation platform.