Karlovy Vary
When the Bohemian king and the Roman emperor Charles IV founded Karlovy Vary, he didn't surely know that he had just founded a spa town which would become world famous one day.
During the following six centuries the town either flourished or declined, it depended on if there had been peace in Europe or if some war or an epidemic of plague had raged through the Continent. The appearance of Karlovy Vary was also badly marked by floods and fires. But the town survived everything and it put on new and usually more beautiful clothes after every disaster.
The fame of the town culminated in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century.It was at that time that the town gained the greater part of its unique architecture which has harmonized with the surrounding scenery up to this time.
Unfortunately, the World War I was the first line in the chain of calamitous historical events which prevented the development of the town for a long time.
Appart from its beauty and rich history the reputation of the spa town is based on its unique curative source - on Karlovy Vary mineral springs. The famous Sprudel was celebrated by poets in the past times and lots of patients looked to it for the last hope to recover. Karlovy Vary mineral springs helped to many of them and their praise spread the fame and good reputation of the spa town to the whole world. In the present many patients from all over the world highly appreciate the curative effects of Karlovy Vary spa treatment too.
The spa town is open for the whole world again and trying to regain its previous beauty and prosperity. The appearance of the town, facilities of spa houses, restaurants and shops improves every year. The offer of cultural events for foreign visitors to the town has been extended as well.
People come to Karlovy Vary from all continets (patients who are treated here come from 60 countries of the world and spend three weeks in the town, short-term visitors come from 80 countries of the world). Karlovy Vary ranks among the most international spa town in the world. The number of visitors increases and is higher than the number of domestic visitors at present. Visitors from the whole world who speak different languages return to Karlovy Vary again and again. Some patients, especially those from the German speaking countries, return to some sanatoriums even twice a year. There are also patients who have visited Karlovy Vary more than fifty times.
The offer of Karlovy Vary spa stays is also available at exhibitions and fairs in both our republic and abroad. The town cooperates with a number of spa towns in Germany, Austria and other countries and has got partner towns overseas - e.g. the Kusatsu town in Japan or Carlsbad in California. The cooperation with the European Union of Spas, which has recently started, helps to increase the reputation of the spa system in other countries. Specialists from the towns which have no spa tradition come to our town and ask for advice.
The effort to do something for one's health and to live a good life without health problems has become popular all over the world in the past years. People who want to get rid of stress and tiredness or to strengthen their health and immunity through a preventive stay come to Karlovy Vary as well - that is why the Karlovy Vary mineral springs are said to have rejuvenation effects.
As the number of patients suffering from chronic diseases is constantly increasing in the modern world, the number of allergies increases as well. It's just the natural curative sources combined with various methods of treatment that bring relief without side effects.
Karlovy Vary with its long tradition, beauty and fame attracted prominent visitors not only in the past. The International Film Festival, which is held at the beginning of July each year, brings world-famous stars to the town: Philipe Noiret, Branco Lustig, John Schlesinger, Leonardo di Caprio, Max von Sydow (in 1994), Mia Farrow, Brit Ekland, Maruschka Demeters, Gina Lollobrigida (in 1995), Gregory Peck, Pierre Richard, Alan Alda, Julia Ormond, Whoopi Goldberg (in 1996).
Representatives of various countries often come to our town - the following prominent visitors came in the recent years: Jean de Luxembourg - the Grand Duke of Luxembourg with his wife and the minister of foreign affairs (in 1994), Veysel Atasov - the Malaysian minister of industry (in 1995), Her Majesty Princess Sayako - the daughter of the Japanese emperor and Shankar Dayal Sarma - the president of India (in 1996). About 300 foreign journalists come to Karlovy Vary every year.
Cultural and social life is an inseparable part of the spa stay. There is a theatre in Karlovy Vary and the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1835, ranks among the oldest orchestras in Europe. Patients can attend lectures on medicine or visit concerts, literary-musical evenings, entertaining programmes, film performances and evenings with dancing. More than 70 artists live and work in our town, which is probably the result of its genius loci. Their works are exhibited in numerous galleries, there is a museum in the town as well as a number of libraries.
The spa town offers enough opportunities to people who love tennis, golf and other sports. The local horse-race is the second oldest in the Czech Republic (it was founded in 1899). There are several swimming pools and outdoor pools in Karlovy Vary and its environmens as well as a bowling room, a sports stadium, an ice rink etc.
Thanks to its beautiful location in the valley of the Teplá River, Karlovy Vary can boast of attractive surroundings. Both the visitors to the town and its inhabitants like to make trips to the spa woods. They can go to the Deer's Jump, the Diana Viewing Tower with a cable railway, the Goethe Viewing Tower, the Three Crosses Hill, the dam in Brezová, the Svatošské skály Rocks, the town of Loket or the Andelská Hora village which are situated in the close neighbourhood of the town. The Ore Mountains, the towns of Cheb and Zlutice and, of course, Mariánské Lázne and Františkovy Lázne, further two spa towns in the West Bohemian region, are more distant places.
Karlovy Vary has got a good bus and railway service. Buses come regularly from Prague, Brno and Vienna. Planes up to 120 passengers can land on the international airport in Karlovy Vary. The town itself is covered by a network of bus lines. It's also possible to go by taxi.
Thousands of people have been treated in Karlovy Vary during the time of its existence. Let only one person, namely Johann Wolfgang Goethe, speak instead of them. In 1795 he came to Karlovy Vary for the first time and at the end of the same year he wrote to a friend of his: "I will go to Karlovy Vary in any case again. I am indebted to it for quite a different existence of mine".
We would like to invite you to test the curative effects of our mineral springs and to feel the unique charm of the town with the Sprudel.