Alfréd's cottage (also Alfrédka) was a hunting lodge and later a mountain lodge, which stood at the foot of Jelenka, near the springs of the Silver Brook, in Hrubé Jeseník.
The hunting lodge was built at the end of the 19th century by Count Alfréd Harrach, who owned the Janovice estate in the years 1884-1914. Earlier, in the 80s of the same century at the latest, a hunting lodge was built a little lower (at an altitude of 1078 m). The popularity of the place for tourists (in contrast to the rest of the places in the southern part of the main Jeseníky ridge) is evidenced by both the preserved views and, above all, the request of the Rýmařovská tourist section to mark the tourist route from Stará Ves to the cottage and on to Jelení studánka. Count Harrach had the route marked out in 1891.
However, as the capacity of the cottage gradually ceased to satisfy, the count had a much more spacious hunting lodge built a little higher in 1898 at the latest, which he called Waidmannsheil (Hunting success in Czech) and to which the name Alfréd's cottage was later transferred. The castle was used only by the count, his guests and staff, the former hunting lodge was left for tourists to use. This division lasted until the 1930s, when Count Harrach lost the Janovice estate as part of the so-called forest reform. Apparently, in 1931, the castle with the cottage was confiscated by the state.
Although Alfrédka was heavily promoted in the Czech tourist press, her workload was very low. Czech tourists often skipped this part of the Jeseníky Mountains, while Germans boycotted it. Therefore, a number of modifications were made and a new use of the cottage was sought (e.g. organizing school trips). In 1934, the ski route Alfrédova chata – Vysoká hole – Praděd was marked, and in the spring of 1935 the road from Stará Ves to the chalet was completed.
After the war, the cottage returned to the property of the KČST, Mr. Vavrečka from Olomouc became the tenant. The cottage continued to suffer from low attendance, but this time it was not the only one in Jeseníky. The newly arrived settlers of the area had quite different concerns and had no relation to the landscape at all, and the transport did not work properly either, so tourists from the interior had difficulty getting here. In 1948, however, the KČST lost the cottage and it fell to the Czech municipality of Sokolská, and after its abolition, to the property of Tourist Praha. He entrusted the Šumperk Restaurant and Dining Room with its operation. Due to the bureaucratic complexity of accommodating tourists, the cottage switched over to restaurant operation. Since its operation was subsidized by the state, it lasted until 1962, when it burned down due to the carelessness of one of the vacationers.
After the fire, the Bruntál district national committee decided to roof the shelter at Jeléní studánka, in which they invested 70,000 crowns. The shelter thus became the only protective object between Skrítek and Barborka. Although at the same time discussions began about restoring Alfrédka, nothing happened for many years. There was a lack of money, plans and above all there was no organization. In the end, Kovohutě Břidličná took over the foundations of the cottage and in 1971 they built a new and slightly smaller cottage here. It had 46 beds and a dining room serving as a social hall. Later, a covered porch was added to it, and the entrance staircase was roofed. The cottage later served primarily as a corporate recreation center, where tourists could find refreshments and, exceptionally, even spend the night.
After 1989, it was privatized and since July 1, 1991 it was rented by Vlastimil Novák, the cottage continued to function as a tourist hostel and the tenant ensured its year-round operation. There were 43 beds in 3-4 bedded rooms with shared showers and sanitary facilities in the corridor. The dining room also served as a social hall with satellite television. The dining room itself had a capacity of 55 seats, another 50 visitors could fit in the neighboring restaurant. For skiers, there was a ski storage room and a boot drying room. Nearby there was a training meadow with a 250 m long lift. A parking lot was also set up right next to the cottage, where guests were allowed to arrive from Rýmařov and Stará Ves.
On the night of March 24-25, 2002, the cottage burned down again. At that time, a snowstorm swept over the Jeseníky Mountains, leaving only charred foundations for the firefighters.
Three marked tourist routes lead through the place where the hunting lodge stood. The red sign leads from Jelení studánky to Žďárský Potok, the green one from Karlov pod Pradědem also to Žďárské Potok. The third tourist sign is the yellow one, which leads from Jelení studánka towards Skřítek.