About us

On a meadow called Jonaboden, where the roads from Pěnkavčí vrch, Velká Úpa, Spálený mlýn, and Přední Výsluní meet, farmer Wilhelm Bönsch added a glassed-in ground-floor veranda to his old cottage at the beginning of the 20th century. He and his wife ran a popular pub here, and the landlady was renowned far and wide for her blueberry pies.

The popular pub in its strategic location was in great demand, not only among guests but also among prospective buyers. Everything has its price, and so in 1923, the Kneifel couple bought the cottage with the “tavern” and in 1929 added a spacious modern hotel with electric lighting and central heating to the old cottage. In their advertisements, they liked to emphasize that “the prices here are reasonable with solid service.”

With the change of regimes and, unfortunately, also of the population, the operators of Bouda Jana also changed over time. From restaurants and canteens to Interhotel Krkonoše. An important year in our story is 1988, when, after a complete renovation, Mrs. Jaroslava and her young son Petr arrived at Bouda Jana. Although they originally came from Rokycany, they took a little warm-up at Jestřábí bouda just below the summit of Vrbatovo návrší at an altitude of 1,380 meters. Petr sometimes recalls how he used to sled straight down from the porch to Kotelní jáma. His friends from the mountain rescue service just shook their heads in amazement. Later, it was a pleasant change to walk only from Janovy boudy down to Velká Úpa to school. Complete peace and quiet.

Little Petr grew up to be a great mountaineer, the prototype of a local hut keeper. Together with his mother and his wife Veronika, he runs a family mountain hotel, which is one of the best in the entire Úpa River valley in terms of quality.

And just like 130 years ago, today there is an excellent farmer running the business, and the landlady is renowned far and wide for her blueberry pies. They still offer their customers “reasonable prices with solid service.”