Carlsbad

Karlovy Vary lies between the Ore Mountains and the Slavkov Forest, where King Charles IV liked to ride a horse in the 14th century. and hunted game in the woods. His retinue once discovered a hot spring during such a ride in the woods, which soon healed the king's injured leg. Thanks to that, he declared him medicinal and had a city built around him. During the following years, Karlovy Vary flourished, especially in the 16th century, they experienced good times, but soon after that they met natural disasters in the form of floods and devastating fires.

However, due to the fact that the spa became more and more a popular meeting place for the rich nobility, they recovered relatively quickly from these disasters. Probably the most important visitor from this period was the Russian Tsar Peter the Great in the 18th century.

Their predominant form today was imprinted on Karlovy Vary in the 19th century and with it the Art Nouveau period. It was in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century that Karlovy Vary was the most important social center of our country. Together with Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně, they formed an imaginary triangle, where the cream of that time spent her free time and important political decisions were also negotiated here. Both world wars meant a great decline for the spa and the period of socialism was also not the best, but in the last two decades the fame and splendor of Karlovy Vary has increased significantly again and continues to rise.

A total of 12 healing springs are captured here in the hot springs and you can find them in five colonnades - Vřídelní, Zámecká, Tržní, Mlýnská and Sadová. The springs have different temperatures from about 30 ° C to 72 ° C. Probably the most famous of them is Vřídlo, which in the Vřídelní Colonnade gushes to a height of up to 12 m. It is here below the Vřídelní Colonnade that the typical Karlovy Vary Stone Rose souvenir is created. It is formed by the deposition of minerals from the spring and you can even look at the process here. The famous herbal liqueur Becherovka, which has been produced in Karlovy Vary since 1807, is sometimes referred to as the 13th spring. In the town you will also find a museum dedicated to this liqueur and its creators.

You will have Karlovy Vary in the palm of your hand from the Diana lookout tower, to which a gear cable car will take you out of the city. A little lower on the same hill there is a lookout Kamzík, from which there is also a beautiful view of the spa center below you. The river Teplá flows through the whole center, which gives the place a special atmosphere. Its bed winds at the Pupp Hotel, a famous luxury hotel that impresses inside and out. It also certainly houses most of the biggest celebrities who, as every year, visit the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival at the turn of June and July. Tens of thousands of visitors, including celebrities not only from the Czech Republic but also from abroad, have been coming to this big film festival every time since 1947.

In addition to Becherovka or Karlovarská růže, you can also buy the world-famous crystal glass from the Moser company or porcelain from the Thun brand, which is produced nearby.

In the spa, one should mainly enjoy the peace and quiet, and you will really have plenty of opportunities for that while walking around Karlovy Vary. Their atmosphere directly encourages this.

Author: Martina Limbergová