Pracký kopec
Peak · 324 m · Czechia
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Pracký kopec (325m) is the highest point in the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz battlefield, rising above the Dyjsko-svratecký Plain between the Roketnice and Zlatý potok valleys.
The monument on the hilltop, the Mohyla míru or Cairn of Peace, was raised on the exact spot where the French IV Army Corps decided the battle's outcome around eleven in the morning on 2 December 1805. Inside, a parabolic chapel with exceptional acoustics holds the remains of soldiers killed in the fighting. The Brno priest and teacher Alois Slovák founded the committee behind it in 1899 and spent over a decade negotiating funding with the French, Austrian and Russian governments; architect Josef Fanta's building went up in 1910 and 1912, but the First World War delayed the formal dedication until 1923. A 2024 renovation added viewing platforms nine metres up on the museum wing's north and south sides, opening a panorama over the battlefield ground when visibility is good. The adjoining museum, run by the Brno Museum, carries a permanent multimedia exhibition on the 1805 battle and draws around 30,000 visitors a year.
What you see
A 26-metre stone pyramid, capped with a cross and guarded by four female statues representing France, Austria, Russia and Moravia, rises alone on the open hilltop above the old battlefield.
Practical
The memorial complex is open daily 9am to 6pm from June through August, and 9am to 4:30pm Tuesday to Sunday the rest of the year, with a midday closure from 12:15 to 1:30pm. Its café has an outdoor terrace and welcomes cyclists passing through.
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