At 1,603.3 metres (5,260 ft), its summit is the highest point in the Czech Republic, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the Giant Mountains and in the entire Sudetes.

This was mainly due to the relatively minor technical difficulties of the ascent and the fact that since the sixteenth century, many resort visitors flocked to the nearby Bad Warmbrunn (today: Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój) and the highly visible Sněžka, visually dominant over all Giant Mountains was for them an important attraction.

[2] Based on paintings of Caspar David Friedrich and of novels from Theodor Fontane the Schneekoppe region became a center of the first German tourism movement.

In Czech, the mountain was initially called Pahrbek Sněžný ("snow hill"); later Sněžka, with the eventual name Sněžovka, meaning "snowy" or "snow-covered", which was adopted in 1823.

[3] The first building on the mountaintop was the Chapel of Saint Lawrence (Laurentiuskapelle), built c. 1665–1681 by the Silesian noble Schaffgotsch family to give thanks to God and shelter to travellers as it also served as an inn for a brief period of time.

On the Czech side are a post office, and a chairlift station, connecting the peak with the town of Pec pod Sněžkou at the base of the mountain.

In March 2009 the Polish observatory suffered serious damage to the upper disc as a result of extreme weather and structural failure.

The restaurant and meteo offices were reopened soon after the construction team had finished clearing the debris and securing what was left of the observatory.