Muchov

The dominant Černá Studnice ridge on the Western flank of Černá Studnice is countered by the equally rocky 787m Muchov ridge to the East, towards Tanvald and Hamry. The rugged crags at the summit give way to a level ridge path, built before WWI by Jablonec mountain associations. The summit itself, occupied for several decades by the metal communications tower, offers spectacular views of the Smržovka and Tanvald basin, framed by the Jizera Mountains to the North and the valley of the lower Kamenice with Velký Hamry and Plavy to the South. From here one can look down on the Černá Studnice ridge, the Krkonoše Mountains and the hilly panorama stretching inland.

From 1924 until being destroyed by fire in 1937 a picturesque mountain chalet belonging to the Jablonec Mountain Association stood in the saddle below Muchov facing Černá Studnice. The foundations are still just visible between the trees.

The summit of Muchov is described in several local chronicles as a VARTA – part of the ancient system of signals and warnings of the upper Jizera.

Local legend also has it that the Jizera Mountan Muh spirit dwells in a secret cleft in the rocks on Muchov. Other legends tell of bandits who hid their vast loot in a secret vault in the rocks, which could be opened only by uttering magic words. Once, a young lad from Hamry learnt of the bandits’ magic words and relieved them of part of their treasure, whereupon the bandits abandoned the vaults and the treasures therein forever.