as a TV signal transmitter. An architectural competition for the building design was announced. It took place in February 1963 on the Liberec Stavoprojekt premises. Eleven architects/teams took part in the competition, including individual architects Otakar Binar, Jiří Svoboda, Pavel Švancer, Ota Nykodým, Karel Hubáček, Jaromír Syrovátko, Miroslav Ulmann, Jaromír Vacek and teams Josef Patrný - Jiří Hubka - V. Netolička, Miloš Technik and Svatopluk Technik. Hubáček's design was the only one complying with both the requirements. All the designs were put on public display in the Liberec branch of Československá spořitelna. The jury (aka the council of Liberec district national committee) on its April 22, 1963 meeting chose Hubáček's proposal as the winner. The building design created some technical problems for Hubáček and his team due to the climate conditions at the summit of Mount Ještěd. Experts from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, the Czech Technical University in Prague (ČVUT) and the Liberec Institute of Textile and Mechanical Engineering helped to overcome the technical difficulties. The technological equipment and procedures that were put together were protected by the Czechoslovak patents. Some elements (such as the laminated cladding, the special pendulum or the transverse damper) introduced by Zdeněk Patrman in collaboration with the academy experts were since then included in other structures (e.g. the Cukrák transmitter tower) The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone took place on July 30, 1966. The general contractor was Pozemní stavby from Liberec. On 1 May 1971 the transmitter began its operation. However, the hotel interiors and the restaurant were completed two years later. On July 9, 1973, the Ještěd Tower grand opening took place. The total construction was 64 million Czechoslovak crowns (in 1973). Awards In 1964, the Association of Architects of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic awarded the Ještěd Tower design on its annual Architectural Works 1962–63 exhibit. In spring of 1969, at a time when the building had not yet been completed, Karel Hubáček was awarded the Auguste Perret Prize for the creative use of technology in architecture by the International Union of Architects. It is the most significant award ever achieved by a Czech architect. In 2000, the building was awarded the title “The Most Important Czech Building of the 20th Century” In September 2005, in the iDNES.cz "Seven Wonders of the Czech Republic" readers survey the tower ranked as second being defeated by the Pumped storage hydro power plant at Dlouhé