Hotel ŠTEKL v srdci Českého ráje

The history of Hotel Štekl

Hotel Štekl took its name from its founder Karel Štekl, who built this building on a sandstone massif next to the Hrubá Skála Chateau in 1895. Initially, there was a farmhouse which served as the rear area of an Inn next to the Hrubá Skála Chateau.

Karel Štekl, originally a brewer, the son of an innkeeper in Slaný near Prague, married a daughter of the innkeeper Pitra from Hrubá Skála. Štekl built this hotel most likely according to the model of Miramare Fort near Trieste, which also towers on a rock massif.

The hotel was operated primarily in the summer time when it provided services mainly to Prague families in spacious stylish rooms. There were three restaurants in the hotel, two of which were for the hotel guests only, and the third (and the biggest) one was also for the everyday guests.

This third restaurant remained well preserved with its lovely ornamented ceiling. The other two restaurants (one of them decorated in a hunting style and the other one in the Chamber- style) were unfortunately converted into service areas during their reconstruction in 1967. Each floor was different - the size and furnishings of the rooms corresponding to it. The rooms were equipped with period style furniture and there were also Dutch stoves in the bigger rooms. The wonderful environment of the Bohemian Paradise was visited by many prominent guests. The famous Czech writer, Karel Čapek, visited this hotel, the professor and member of the Academy of Sciences, Dr. Vladimír Knichal, and some Czech writers and painters spent the entire summer here. The hotel interior was changed, rebuilt and adapted in 1967 for the purpose of the Trade union recreation.

The building was internally renovated again in 1991 with the aim of restoring its original spirit step by step and creating a comfortable and calm atmosphere where guests can fully enjoy the natural beauties right in the centre of the Bohemian Paradise.