Rich Cultural And Social Life
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 programs, 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.
For Sport Fans
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 environments as well as a bowling room, sport stadium, ice-rink etc.
Attractive Surroundings
Thanks to its beautiful location in the valley of the Tepla 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, The Three Crosses hill, the dam in Brezova, the Svatosske skaly Rocks, the town Loket or the Andelska Hora village which are situated in the neighborhood of the town. The Ore Mountains, the towns of Cheb and Zlutice and, of course, Marianske Lazne and Frantiskovy Lazne, another two spa towns in the West Bohemian region, are more distant places…
J. W. Goethe Came Thirteen Times
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.
Specialties Of Karlovy Vary
The Thirteen Spring. Karlovy Vary herbal liqueur becherovka is often said to be the thirteen healing spring of Karlovy Vary. The production of this world-famous bitter-sweet liqueur started in 1807. The English doctor Frobrig made up the recipe for the liqueur for his friend, pharmaceutical chemist Josef Becher, in 1805. In 1841 the factory was taken over by Josef Becher's son Johan who started to fill the typical flat bottles with golden liquid. The liqueur is made of spirit, Karlovy Vary mineral water, about 20 sorts of herbs and spices, distilled wine and sugar. The detailed recipe is, of course, a secret. But it is not a secret that becherovka has been enjoyed for more than 200 years everywhere where it has appeared. At the beginning of this century the Austrian Kaiser started to like it so much that 50 litres of it had to be delivered to his court every month.
Karlovy Vary waffles. Although Karlovy Vary waffles rank among the typical specialties of the spa town, only little is known about the beginning of their production. The very first proof of their existence are waffle irons which have been preserved. They date from about the 2nd third of the 18th century. The waffles were decorated in different ways at that time but they were only about 13 cm in diameter. Because of their easy digestibility, they were very popular with patients who were on different strict diets. The waffles made their menu more varied. The waffles become very popular at the end of the 19th century. As a result of this the number of factories increased considerably. 4 million waffles were baked in Karlovy Vary in 1902. Up to these days it ranks among the most famous specialties and souvenirs.