Photo exhibition of rare plants and animals opens at lookout tower in the Lusatian Mountains

A photo exhibition called "Face to Face," dedicated to rare plants and animals of the Lusatian Mountains (Czechia), has opened at a lookout tower there, the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency of the Czech Republic (AOPK ČR) reports.

According to agency spokesperson Irena Valdhauzerová, the organizers want to surprise and captivate summer visitors to the tower with detailed, close-up shots of plants, reptiles, birds and other living creatures. "Usually we, as conservationists, speak on behalf of defenseless plants and 'mute' creatures — explaining what they need and what, on the contrary, harms them. This time we decided to let them speak for themselves," she explained.

The contributors include both seasoned photographers whose work has been published abroad — among them Václav Sojka, a legend of Czech nature photography — and up-and-coming talents. These include nineteen-year-old Kateřina Fialová, a recent winner of the Josef Vavroušek Award, and Michael Ježek, whose photographs were recognized in 2024 at the "Science is Beautiful" competition held by the Faculty of Science at Charles University.

The traveling exhibition was made possible thanks to support from the Prospective LIFE project and the Liberecký kraj, which is contributing financially to mark the 50th anniversary of two protected landscape areas at once — the Lusatian Mountains (Lužické hory) and the Kokořínsko–Máchův kraj. In September, the exhibition will move from its tourist-spot location into town: starting September 9, 2026, it will be displayed on the fence of the Dům dětí a mládeže "Smetanka" youth center in Nový Bor.

According to František Pelc, director of the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency of the Czech Republic, this year dedicated to protected landscape areas is meant to remind people that such natural zones form part of the shared cultural heritage — on par with architectural monuments — and part of national identity. "The Lusatian Mountains and the neighboring Kokořínsko–Máchův kraj were declared protected in the same year. What also unites them is that they are islands of untouched nature amid a landscape intensively used by people," he noted.

The anniversary celebrations will conclude in early November with a joint conference of the two jubilee protected areas titled "The Land of Half-Timbered Houses" (Krajem podstávkových domů).

Read also: 9 lookout points in Prague where the city of red roofs unfolds before your eyes