Švýcárna

Švýcárna (German: Schweizerei) is a tourist mountain lodge in the Jeseníky Mountains of the Czech Republic. It stands at an elevation of 1,304 metres above sea level on the ridge route between Červenohorské sedlo and Praděd, at the address Kouty nad Desnou čp. 74, Loučná nad Desnou, in the Šumperk District. The building is recognised as the oldest mountain lodge in the Jeseníky range and carries its own official tourist stamp, No. 8. The site began as an alpine dairy (salaš) built in 1829 on the orders of Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein. The dairy was worked by a Swiss bača — a shepherd from the Bernese Alps — and it is from this shepherd that the lodge takes its name, Švýcárna, meaning roughly 'the Swiss place' or 'Swiss dairy'. As tourism developed in the mountains, Prince Jan II of Liechtenstein had the old dairy replaced in 1887 by a new log-built lodge intended for tourists. That 1887 structure forms the basis of the guesthouse that operates today. In the present day Švýcárna functions as a mountain guesthouse offering accommodation and refreshment to hikers on the main ridge trail of the Jeseníky Mountains. It is operated under the Figura brand, whose website hosts the lodge's booking and information pages. The official site has at times been placed in maintenance mode, with a notice that the site will be available soon. As a commercial offering, Švýcárna is a hospitality and tourism brand: a named mountain lodge with a long heritage, a distinctive Swiss-shepherd origin story, and a position as a landmark stop on one of the Czech Republic's principal long-distance mountain hiking routes.

Švýcárna began in 1829 as an alpine dairy (salaš) built on the orders of Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein. The dairy was worked by a Swiss bača — a shepherd from the Bernese Alps — and the lodge's name, Švýcárna (German: Schweizerei), derives from this shepherd and his Swiss origin. The site lies at 1,304 metres above sea level on the ridge between Červenohorské sedlo and Praděd, in what is today the Šumperk District of the Czech Republic. As tourism developed in the Jeseníky Mountains during the nineteenth century, the old dairy was no longer suited to the growing number of visitors. In 1887 Prince Jan II of Liechtenstein had the original salaš replaced by a new log-built lodge designed for tourists. This 1887 structure is the basis of the guesthouse that survives today, and it is why Švýcárna is described as the oldest mountain lodge in the Jeseníky range. The lodge continued to serve hikers on the main ridge route, and it acquired its own official tourist stamp, No. 8, as part of the Czech tourist stamp system. In the modern era the lodge operates as a mountain guesthouse under the Figura brand, whose website hosts the accommodation and information pages for Turistická chata Švýcárna. The official site has at times displayed a maintenance notice stating that the site will be available soon. Today Švýcárna remains an active hospitality business and a landmark on the ridge trail between Červenohorské sedlo and Praděd, combining its Liechtenstein-era origin story with modern mountain accommodation and refreshment services.

• 1887

  Prince Jan II of Liechtenstein replaces the old dairy with a new log-built lodge intended for tourists.

• 1829

  Prince Alois II of Liechtenstein has an alpine dairy (salaš) built; it is worked by a Swiss bača, giving the site its name Švýcárna.

• Švýcárna is assigned its own official tourist stamp, No. 8.

• The lodge operates as a mountain guesthouse under the Figura brand.

Heritage mountain lodge and hospitality stop on the Jeseníky ridge trail, marketed as the oldest lodge in the range.

• Turistická chata Švýcárna mountain guesthouse

  Mountain lodge offering accommodation and refreshments at 1,304 m on the Jeseníky ridge trail.

• Tourist stamp No. 8

  Official Czech tourist stamp associated with the Švýcárna site.

1. 1Site is undergoing maintenancefigura.cz
2. 2Švýcárnawikidata.org
3. 3Švýcárna (Kouty nad Desnou)cs.wikipedia.org