History of chalet
Originally there was a mill, gamekeeper’s house and several mountain cottages on the site. The mill was well known in the area for the production of shingles. In 1902 part of the mill was converted to a mountain inn. The mill and inn burned down several times. During 1929 – 1930 the building was rebuilt and opened as the Hotel Serlich Mill. During the Second World War the hotel was used as a recreation centre for the German Army.
Our chalet was originally built as the gamekeeper’s house and for many years was owned by the aristocratic Colloredo-Mansfeld family. The family originally came from Italy, with the earliest family records dating from the 11th century. The family came to Czechoslovakia during the Thirty Year War (1618 – 1648), fighting on the side of the Imperial Army. One of the most famous family members was Imperial Marshal Rudolf Colloredo (1585-1657) who successfully defended Prague against the Swedish Army. In 1635 the brothers Jerome and Rudolf Colloredo acquired the famous Chateau Opocno (located 20km from our Chalet and highly recommended to visit)
The Colloredo-Mansfeld family lost all their properties in 1942, having been declared as enemies of Germany. Despite this, in 1945 the whole Colloredo-Mansfeld family were held to be enemies of Czechoslovakia and collaborators with Nazi Germany. The family members then emigrated to Austria in 1948 following the communist revolution in Czechoslovakia. In 1989 the property was returned to the family in restitution.