Šibeniční vrch is a long, forested twin-summit ridge (590 and 573 m) in the northernmost part of the Czech Republic, rising in the Lusatian Mountains above the village of Horní Podluží. Its ominous name - 'Gallows Hill' - is no accident: an execution gallows once stood at its northern foot, and the summit itself was marked as the place of judgment on old maps.
Today the hill is a quiet, wooded ridge offering a peaceful walk through typical Lusatian Mountains forest, with a rocky outcrop of phonolite marking where volcanic rock once broke through the surrounding greywacke. In winter, the northern slope turns into a modest ski area with a short slope and lift, while the rest of the year the hill is calm and shaded, popular with hikers passing through on their way to nearby Jedlová. The atmosphere here is understated but carries a distinct sense of history.
How to reach the summitA 1745 map of Jiřetín and its surroundings actually labels this hill 'das Gericht' (the court), and surviving records describe three death sentences carried out here in the 18th century - a grim footnote still echoed in the hill's name today.