Old fortress Loket. Lithography of T. G. Funk dated 1680

There, where the River Ohre - one of the tributaries of the Elbe - forms a curve and is configured in such a way as to remind one of an arm bent at the elbow, has stood, since the middle of the 13th century, the castle fortress of Loket (Elbow). In the 14th century here was sited one of the residences of the King of the Czech lands and ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles IV, the very same man whose name is given to the town, the region, University of Central Europe, Charles Bridge in Prague and to a whole plethora of other places on Czech territory which have linked their existence to this powerful historical figure. The hilly, bush-covered forests and places carved out of river valleys which surrounded Loket seemed at the time, to the Emperor and his entourage, ideal as a place for hunting.

Discovery of Vridlo. Painting by W.Kandler, 1878

Charles IV came here quite regularly and legend has it that he discovered a mineral spring here. For decades this was passed down by word of mouth. But only in the middle of the 16th century was it first mentioned in the history book of Caspar Bruschius. Later, in 1571, the legend was described in full in the book of another historian, Fabian Sommer, and gained a semblance of verisimilitude.

According to this ancient legend, Charles IV was tracking a stag with a pack of dogs. On the bank of the river Tepla - a tributary of the Ohre - one of the dogs fell into a hot spring and scalded itself. Approaching the spring, subsequently named Vridlo (Geyser), the King was struck by this unusual creation of nature. Then, in the presence of his physicians, he supposedly declared that the waters had curative properties and could cure many serious maladies.

Incidentally, the thermal springs were long known to those living locally. Not for nothing did the Slavs call this place Vary (the plural form of their word "boiling") . But it was actually Charles IV, according to legend, having discovered this live geyser, who gave the order to found a settlement on the site, which was then elevated, around 1348, to the rank of a town, later receiving bearing his name. Quite possibly, that is how Karlovy Vary came to be.

In any case, it is certainly true that ten years later an imperial hunting lodge was constructed here, and also a prismatic tower built in Gothic style, never once reconstructed and preserved to this day.

Prismatic Castle tower

An Imperial edict of October 14, 1370 granted the citizens of the new town various rights, freedoms and privileges, which since olden times have been preserved by the Loket town authorities. At that time, amidst the rocky crevices of the Tepla River valley, there were something like 40 dwellings.

In 1401 the son of the Great Emperor Vaclav IV gave the town a security guarantee against arbitrary rule by various predatory mercenaries who were liable to act in the interests of one warring clan or another. Probably, this was why even the bloody Hussite wars (1419-1434) avoided the geyser valley. After that, Karlovy Vary's privileges were confirmed by other Czech rulers, such as Sigismund Luxembourgsky, Ladislav Pohrobek, Jiri of Podebrad and Vladislav Jagellonsky.

Gothics church of St Mary Magdelane's

The development of Karlovy Vary continued, the town was built quickly by the standards of the day. The best building plots were allotted to Church projects.

St Ondrej's church

As is known, by 1485, on the right bank of the River Tepla, a single nave Gothic Roman Catholic Church began to rise - St Mary Magdalene. And the appearance in the town cemetery of the remains of St Ondrej can be dated approximately to 1500. There was also civil construction. In 1520, on the left bank of the river, a town hall building was raised, and in 1531, from monies received by way of the resort's takings, a charity hospital of The Holy Ghost was founded.

A plan of the town preserved from the 16th century confirms that the banks of the Tepla were then built on more than other places. On the left side stood the trade and administrative centre: the market, the town hall, and higher up, on the rocks, the prismatic Castle tower. On the right hand side was laid out the triangular square of St Mary Magdelane's from where the road to Prague led. The square and the centre were joined by a bridge. The architectural aspect of the buildings speaks of the predominating influence of two styles of the time - Gothic and Renaissance.

In those days ever more visitors were coming to Karlovy Vary, and the resort facilities began to be built on the basis of the scientific methodology (as then practiced) of treatment using mineral waters.

The popularisation of the resort was helped by the famous Czech humanist and poet Bohuslav Hasistejnsky (1460-1510). His ode, dedicated to the geyser at Karlovy Vary was first published in Latin and French in 1509, going on to be translated into 24 languages.

The town had become a little cramped and while the central part was creaking at the seams, it was branching out to new lands. The richest locals invested money in buying up woodlands and land plots in neighbouring villages.

However, the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the next one were in truth a black period in the life of Karlovy Vary. The town suffered a natural calamity of such destructive force that it's very future existence seemed under threat.

Gothic Karlovy Vary. Old engraving

First was the flooding over the banks of the River Tepla (1582). Of the 102 dwellings, flooding completely destroyed 36 and partially ruined 18.

Then in 1604 a great blaze was started, as result of which only three houses were left standing. Of everything created by the generations, only memories remained, and some preserved fundamentals, but the enterprising nature of the citizens had not disappeared, a nature that seemed to get stronger with each woe. They did not fall into despair but began to collect the means for overcoming the consequences of the fire from all across the land. Sacrifices came from towns , nobility and citizens of substance, special ambassadors went abroad returning with money. The enlightened Emperor Rudolph II of the Austrian Hapsburg dynasty was ruling at the time. He was renowned not only as a patron of the arts but as a jealous defender of the Treasury's finances. In 1609 the ruler embarked on what was then an unprecedented step for him: he freed the town from all tax obligations for five years and earmarked for construction the Treasury's own plots of land.

The marble plaque with the Latin text The Ode to Vridlo (Mlynska Kolonada)

The town rose from the ashes, like the mythical Phoenix. Within a few years dozens of new homes had been built, and stone ones besides, not wooden like before. In 1614 neighbouring villages of Dalovice, Vseborovice and Vysoka were bought up and became new town quarters. However, the Thirty Years War between the Catholics and the Protestants in Europe, which broke out in 1618, brought new trials and tribulations. Karlovy Vary was pillaged both by interventionist forces (Saxons and Swedes), and by the Austrians called in to defend the town. The people's lot was ruin, epidemic and hunger.

The town of Karlovy Vary in 1650. Lithography

With the ending of military hostilities, a new era of progress quickly took hold. The essence of a new town is depicted in a 1650 lithograph: a town built on the site of the 1604 fire and reconstructed after the war. We can see that the general plan had practically stayed the same in the 17th century. Houses stretched along a narrow river valley, surrounded on all sides by hills. At the same time a broadening of the town was undertaken, by way of construction on the slopes of the hills facing the river. Multi-storeyed houses appeared with high triangular pediments. Between buildings the space in the form of gardens or courtyards had disappeared. The entrance to these houses was straight from the street.

There is documentary evidence to show that at that time in Karlovy Vary there were registered 122 houses and 1,454 inhabitants. The most prestigious place was considered to be the market area and the Geyser. The cost of land adjoining them was the highest. Therefore, only citizens of real substance built on or acquired land for housing here.

The second half of the 17th century was marked by an enlivening of all aspects of commercial activities of the town. Praise for the salubrious springs attracted ever more people to the place, all wanting deliverance from ailments or to strengthen their health.

Thanks to the efforts of the doctors and the enterprise of the citizens, the prestige of Karlovy Vary as an international resort continued to grow. It had become a fashionable place for meeting aristocrats from Austria and Germany, Russia and Poland.

At the same time, local crafts were flourishing, owing to the rich visitors. Craftsmen working with tin, made imitation silver dishes and utensils; armourers crafted masterpieces, for example swords and daggers decorated with encrusted silver and gold and which were the pride of many noblemen's arsenals and collections. Even such simple items, such as hairpins and stud pins were produced here with particular craftsmanship. There was a special branch of craft preparing glasses and cups for drinking the curative waters with glass fretwork and engraving.

The souvenirs that visitors to Karlovy Vary regarded above all else were the inlays made out of so called Vridlovec - petrified mineral salts.

Box garnished with Vridlovec

The economic upturn stimulated a building boom at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, during which Gothic and Renaissance styles were finally ousted as architectural schools by the new style - Baroque. It was precisely in this style, in 1701, that the first monumental public building, called the Saxon Hall was erected, and next to which later (1728) was built the Czech Hall in the same style. Both occupied the square where today stands the Grand Hotel Pupp complex. Thanks to those two buildings, there arose new universal reference points in Karlovy Vary. The resort boulevard stretched out to the new construction sites, for which on the left bank, in a place named Stara Louka (Old Mead), they had to take part of the rock, and the long axis of the town went right up to the Brezova region. The construction continued both near to the Geyser and on the right bank of the River Tepla. Today's Stara Louka and Nova Louka streets, situated one opposite the other embankment, became second only to the Geyser itself as focal points for social life and a place for parading and for holiday walks.

Vridlovec

During the first half of the 18th century Karlovy Vary enjoyed the extreme benevolence of the ruling Hapsburg dynasty. In 1707 Emperor Joseph I granted it the status of a free royal city, something that provided a whole host of important advantages and privileges. The local authorities received the opportunity not only to set and maintain order for the inhabitants and visitors, but to finance, thanks to a special state subsidy, construction of major social projects. At that time the first official resort treatment centre appeared - Mlýnské Lázně.

Saxon and Czech Halls. Painting dated 1802

Development of the resort business continued along many directions: new springs were equipped, the scientific-medical centre making use of the mineral waters was renovated. Outstanding local physician David Becher (1725-1792) directly took part in the construction of the resort, systematising the basic methods of curative therapy: namely the regularity of taking the waters and bathing, a programme of complementary procedures, including nature walks. The "ethos" of Karlovy Vary affected local artists and designers, by whose work today one can get a visual impression of the life of the town in that period.

Bust of Peter I

For marketing purposes a list was regularly published and updated of foreign VIPs who came here. The numbers grew, prompting frequent visits to the resort by representatives of the Imperial Palace. One of the famous visitors was the Russian Tsar Peter I. He took a course of treatment here in 1711-1712 and left some lasting memories of himself by way of numerous legends. For example, how he took part in the construction work on the "U Pava" House, as well as competing in prestigious shooting competitions, and how he climbed on a horse bare-back and rode cross-country to a great high point where today stands his bust.

The Baroque pillar of Trinity by the sculptor Josef Oswald was erected in 1716 in order to thank the Lord because the plague epidemic, that was ravaging Czech lands at the time, did not touch Karlovy Vary

The growth of the international significance of Karlovy Vary prompted the local authorities to initiate construction of a new temple, which in its dimensions and architectural qualities answered the spirit of the age. Emperor Charles VI, who visited the town in 1732, liked the idea and he allocated resources from the Treasury for the purpose. The venerable architect Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer was brought in. And there in 1738 on the spot of the modest Gothic Catholic Church of St Mary Magdalene arose the most sublime temple of the same name, but in the Baroque style, and today it still adorns the resort.

Baroque church of St Mary Magdelane's

The new scale of the town urgently demanded special attention for its infrastructure. Following the cleaning of the resort's boulevard, the banks of the River Tepla were strengthened. In order to head off the constant threat of flooding, a personal edict of the Emperor's Minister and High Counsellor, Count Rudolph Chotek, allowed work to be completed to regulate the water level.

However, a great tragedy struck in 1759 Đ again not because of the water, but from fire - just as a century and a half earlier. In five hours 224 homes were razed to the ground. Many were injured and the magnificent temple of St Mary Magdalene was affected. The construction along the embankment in the upper reaches of the River Tepla was preserved, approximately from a point which is today's Elephant on the side of the Grand Hotel Pupp, where stood the Saxon and the Czech Halls. For a long time after the fire the local council held its sessions there, having lost its own building.

The Post House. Old painting

The basic tendency that showed itself after the fire was the systematic construction and erection of multi-storey stone houses with tiled roofs and with rich finishing and facades. In 1762 the health centre Mlynske Lazne was modernised. In 1777, under a scheme by David Becher, the Geyser's hall was built. In 1788 an existing temporary stage was replaced by a newly-built town theatre, and in 1791 a place for relaxation for guests, "The Post House", was opened, soon becoming a cultural meeting place, where the Josef Labitsky symphony orchestra and other famous musicians gave recitals. A year and the town was adorned with a new wooden colonnade over at the New Spring (what is today's Rusalcin spring).

Findlater's hut

The construction projects were financed from various sources. A significant sum for these aims was sacrificed by the ruler of the Czech lands, the Austrian Empress Marie Terezie. From 1764, at the suggestion of David Becher, the preparation for export of geyser salts was launched. As for the development of the town, more and more rich and famous people were coming here - something that swelled the Treasury, facilitating an increase in expenditure on the inhabitants. In 1795 a special "resort tax" was introduced. And in 1806 Emperor Franz I granted local entrepreneurs new benefits formulated like so: Anyone building a fire-proof house in the central district of town shall be exempt from payment of taxes for 12 years. On the cusp of the 18th and 19th centuries Karlovy Vary began to take on the aspect it has today: the image of a colonnaded town, rising over curative springs, a town with wide boulevards and beautiful buildings, of sanatoria-hotels, a town with a rich cultural and social life, that enjoyed worldwide renown. In 1810 there were 450 homes in Karlovy Vary. Visitors" generosity provided an opportunity for development of a network of pleasant forest walking paths on the edge of town. A famous patron of the Arts who had a hand in the works was Lord Findlater. An important project was the laying of the winding road in the direction of Prague in 1804-1806, strengthened by support walls (today's Prazska Street).

Karlovy Vary dated 1790. Old postcard

In the middle of the 18th century the architectural image of the town began to change gradually under the influence of Classicism. Following the aftermath of the fire of 1759 it had begun to predominate in the kind of building facades, and was even more clearly seen in its specific variety - the Empire style, which originated in France under Emperor Napoleon I and had become fairly widespread in Europe at that time. In 1811 the Dresden architect A. Hissel erected a building in this style at the place where today's Mlynske Colonnade now stands. In 1826 an Empire style colonnade eclipsed constructions in the Baroque style which then surrounded the Geyser. In that period of years, two enchanting chapels were constructed in the style of late Empire - Doroteiny Nivy and Terezin Pramen. Finally, lamp lights came to adorn the town with general gas-light available, something that appeared on the initiative of the magistrates in 1815.

Spa promenade. Painting by V. Gause, 1895

The resort calling of Karlovy Vary determined and widely disseminated in the aesthetic life of the town the ideas of Romanticism, popular in Central Europe ever since the 18th century. Its influence was seen not only in architecture but in the town planning of space, in the creation of harmony in construction projects, with striking natural landscapes and picturesque Karlovy Vary countryside. The town's parks and views of the sites on walking routes made an impression on the romantic soul. The tendency to broaden the areas of greenery can be traced to a plan of the town for 1813.

Dorotheiny Nivy.

In the second half of the 19th century, under the influence of change in Europe, brought about by the French revolution and the industrial revolution, the profile of visitors changed too. In place of the nobility and the high-born personages came the representatives of the new bourgeois class. Then the town became the centre of political life: it hosted meetings of European diplomats and international conferences. There were important changes for the better also in the structure of the town administration. After March 1848 the basic unit of land administration for the Austrian monarchy - which Karlovy Vary was part of - became the settlement, headed by elected councils of representatives. The combination of developing capitalism and the efforts of the town administration, intent on creating conditions for receiving a large number of visitors, brought a new phenomenon to the architecture of Karlovy Vary - Historicism. The essence of this was to marry the achievements of maximum expediency with regard to the demands and tastes of the new era - to use to the limit those achievements and the best traditions of the past. And so appeared many "Neo" styles - Neo-Classicism, Neo-Renaissance and others.

Military resort sanatorium. Painting dated 1855

A typical expression of the architectural tendencies of this period was the building of the Military resort sanatorium. With the permission of the Viennese government, Karlovy Vary doctor Gallus Hochberger and Count Evzen Cernin organised a collection of monies through a lottery. On August 18, 1853, according to a project by the architect Hagenauer, construction was begun on a monumental building on the left bank of the River Tepla, and July 12, 1855 saw the majestic opening of the sanatorium and the illumination of its chapel.

Its three-storey structure, made up of four wings, and forming a quadrangle, was distinguished by its strict symmetry, characteristic of an Austrian barracks, but enriched by elements of Neo-Renaissance. Unfortunately, the plans were lost and it is therefore difficult to reconstruct the detail of the building's interior, which has undergone great changes since then. We know that only the small chapel on the second floor is preserved today where you can find the group sculpture, created in 1856 by the Czech sculptor V. Levi.

Lazne III, 1866

While continuing the search for architectural self-expression, the emerging town bourgeoisie merged with the surroundings which, in his book Historicism - architecture of the second half of the 19th century in Moravia and Silesia, the Czech researcher P. Zatloukal characterised as a striving to seem to be something else: The landowner-nobleman wants to appear as a knight of the Middle Ages, the aristocrat and cleric or merchant also want to present a different image.

It was precisely such a striving that prompted the local bourgeoisie to set about the brave projects in the style of Romantic Historicism, imbued with the traditions of English neo-Gothic and using Neo-Romanesque elements.

Mlynska Colonnade, 1882

An example of such an approach was the erection alongside the Military sanatorium of the Lazne III building, a project that was given the blessing of the town council on April 13, 1863. The gala opening of this resort site took place on September 10, 1866. Also in the Neo-Romanesque style was constructed the Evangelical Church of St Peter on the right bank of the Tepla River. It only took on its final image after the facade was rebuilt in 1865 with its tower with pyramid roof, and alongside construction was started on a house for the clergyman, adorned, as the church, with Neo-Romanesque designs. The supporters of strict Historicism paid homage to the traditions of the past - but this style which combined in itself elements of the Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Gothic. The most significant work of strict historicism is the Mlynske colonnade, acknowledged as a masterpiece of Karlovy Vary architecture.

Vridelni Colonnade, 1900

The creation of a new colonnade right where two popular springs flow out onto the surface, was undertaken not only out of aesthetic considerations, but because the two colonnades in the Empire style which had stood here since 1827 could no longer cope with the influx of resort visitors.

Vridelni Colonnade, 1910. Interiers

At the end of the 1860s the town council turned to the Czech architect Josef Zitek, designer of the National Theatre in Prague and the city museum in Weimar (Germany). The construction started with a swing, but in 1871 was frozen in view of rising costs. Zitek was forced to re-work the project which became, as a result, a lot more modest but, as a consequence, construction of the colonnade was allowed to be completed practically in the form it is today. The architectural image of the resort at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century had been formed under the strong influence of ideas and practical work of the Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer, who built nearly 20 buildings in Karlovy Vary in total. They strove to take into account to the utmost requirements of the local client, using in their projects elements of the varied culture suggesting solutions that chimed in with the specific features of the surrounding landscapes.

Garden Colonnade

The first of their resort projects was the Vridelni Colonnade (1879), then the colonnade at the Garden Spring and, finally, Trzni Colonnade. That was built in 1883 by the Viennese carpenter Osterreicher - in the Swedish style from wood, as a temporary construction. But it turned out that the wooden colonnade outlasted many more supposedly more durable structures of its time. And it was only after nearly 110 years that it was finally disassembled and replaced with an exact copy, preserving in such a way an original look to this very day.

Market (Trzni) Colonnade, 1883. (In front of the Prismatic tower.)

In 1886 the firm Fellner and Helmer accomplished construction of a new Town Theatre. A proportionally balanced building situated in the centre of the resort zone, on the square, it took shape as a result of the demolition of the old theatre and several neighbouring buildings. The functional specifics and the value of the buildings were underlined by the diverse architecture and by other elements, carried from the Baroque and Rococo epochs. The whole interior creates the impression of harmony and comfort. The curtain on which is depicted a complex figurative composition under the name Apotheosis of poetic art, was created by the artists famous under the group name "Kunstler company", who specialised in the sphere of decorative and allegorical pictures.

The curtain of the Town Theatre

The Town Theatre

One of the most significant buildings, built by a Viennese firm in Karlovy Vary was the sanatorium Lazne I, previously named The Imperial. Among the latter works of the firm can be numbered the Grand Hotel Pupp complex, which had grown up on the place where stood the Czech Hall had once stood having been bought back in 1775 by the confectioner Jurgen Georgy Pupp, and subsequently run by several generations of the family as a hotel.

Lazne I

The Great Concert Hall, opened in 1907, became the crown of the complex. One can find in it elements of the Neo-Baroque and Art Nouveau. The extremely complex and rich interior of the hall reminds one yet again just why the firm Fellner and Helmer received such wide renown in Europe.

Grand Hotel Pupp

Grand Hotel Pupp  Concert Hall

As a whole, despite the serious flooding of 1890, the final decade of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century - right up to the First World War, as a rule, is considered to be the Golden Age of Karlovy Vary. In addition to the magnificent works of this period mentioned above, one must add a multitude of distinctive dwellings and administrative buildings: the Anglican Church of St Lucas in its romantic brick Neo-Gothic style, the synagogue and a Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Peter and Paul built in the style of late Historicism in 1897.

St Lucas Cathedral

Karlovy Vary architects and artists did not escape contemporary influences of Europe of that time - the so-called Art Nouveau which showed itself, above all, in matters of decor and design of town structures, for example, in stained glass panels and paintings, wall clocks and other works of art, that adorned the interiors. The most beautiful and stylistically pure building of this type in Karlovy Vary is considered to be the Zawojski House which appeared in 1906 not very far from Trzni colonnade. In the Art Nouveau style with elements of eclecticism it was the building of the former Savings Bank.

Flood in 1890

Military resort sanatorium and Garden Colonnade. View from Dvorak Gardens

Pre-war construction was practically completed with the erection in 1912 of the majestic sanatorium Imperial which was the pre-eminent building bar none for its exquisite construction and unique conception. It met all demands for a modern hotel and resort architectural complex. Multi-storeyed, comprising two wings with towers, crowned at its central section with a lantern which highlighted the effort to strengthen to the maximum the effect of the swooping mass above. The strong relief impression creates a portal with pilasters and adornings. This is an example of eclectic architecture, conjoining elements of Classicism and later Historicism.

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Peter and Paul

Zawojski House

At that time the town had become an important node of the European railway network and was used to receiving numerous travellers. Thanks to the efforts of scientists and medics, new methods of treatment using the curative waters of Karlovy Vary were discovered and mastered - even such serious illnesses such as diabetes. Famous representatives of European culture, science and politics used to come here. The number of visitors at the resort grew at a surprising rate. For example, in 1911, 70,935 people received treatment here. Not for nothing did they long remember the sunset of the Austro-Hungarian empire as the Good Old Days, the end of which heralded war and its aftermath of major changes in the life of Europe and the world.

Spa hotel Imperial

Frontage of the Insurance company building

Spa hotel Thermal

After the emergence of the Czech Republic in 1918, the border areas with Germany, including Karlovy Vary, fell into a difficult position. Germans who had been living there for hundreds of years tried to set up an autonomous province. The army and the police got involved and in the riots people died. Friction between Germans and Czechs continued and this clearly did not add any popularity to the resort. The economic crisis of the 30s in Europe did not leave Karlovy Vary unscathed. Hundreds of small and medium-sized businessmen, including owners of hotels and guest houses, were ruined. Nevertheless, thanks to private initiative and state grants, a few new significant buildings did appear in the town between the wars. The most important was the dam on the River Tepla in Brezova (1936). It always averts the threat of high waters. The capacity for tourists grew as a result of the Lazne VI modern resort project coming on stream in 1927. The building of the hospital insurance company and the church at the Monastery of the Redeemed (1931-33) came to adorn the trading centre of Karlovy Vary. In 1932 an iron and concrete bridge, unique in its technical qualities, was thrown across the River Ohre leading in the direction of the Upper railway station. At the end of the Second World War Karlovy Vary was many times subjected to bombardment. The buildings of the Upper and Lower railway stations, the Rybare bridgehead and the northern quarter of the resort, bore a heavy brunt. In the post-war period nothing new conceptually was introduced to the image of the resort. A trading zone was actively built up and the suburban peripheral dwelling areas. Of the interesting buildings of the second half of the 20th century one can name, first of all, the spa hotel Thermal, the new Geyser colonnade and the building of the production association "Computer Technology". Following the Velvet Revolution of 1989 a period of entrepreneurial activity opened up, with a flood of local and foreign investment. Dozens of sanatoria and hotels, following reconstruction, moved to the levels of international standards. The resort town is getting younger, better and looks to the future with hope.

Vridelni Colonnade. Interior

 

 

Angel Mountain and a bird's-eye view of the environs

Nature has been very generous endowing this region with minerals (various ores, coal, quality kaolin), thermal, radioactive and acid mineral waters, rivers, forests and mild climate. No wonder that from the earliest times this area was a loadstone for the people who came here to develop industry, crafts, architecture and art. Tourists and scientists from all over the world fly in, attracted by the beauty of neighbouring nature and sights. From the top of Angel Mountain, situated by the road from Prague to Karlovy Vary, visitors can enjoy a magnificent view of the environs including the Krusne Hory Mountains. They also have the opportunity to observe the ruins of an ancient fortress Đ a former feudal residence dating from the beginning of the 15th century.

The fortress Becov. The New Castle. Baroque Chapel

Loket Castle

At the point where the river Ohre forms a curve, reminiscent in its configuration of an arm bent at the elbow, the monumental castle Loket towers. It is one of the most remarkable monuments of medieval Czech architecture and culture. The castle owned by Czech kings used to be the administrative centre of Loket region. Its architectural centrepiece is a prismatic tower made of specifically worked stones. The castle was reconstructed several times but it has preserved its original typical shape. Tourists fascinated by traditional lively carnivals, Christmas fairs and picturesque markets with craftsmen using their medieval instruments, can also visit a permanent exhibition of porcelain ware from local potteries.

The Settlement of Becov

Klinovec peak in winter

The town of Loket itself is a magnificent historical monument with the remains of fortifications, the St Wenceslas Church, the Baroque style town hall and houses with Gothic portals. A Gothic style fortress "Becov" with the so-called New Castle in the courtyard is situated in the wilderness area "Slavkovsky les", just near Karlovy Vary. Having visited the fortress you get rather quickly to the cozy town of Becov. From there you can take a walk to some other romantic places of the "Slavkovsky les" forest. One of them is the small spa town of Kyselka founded at the turn of 18th - 19th centuries. The mineral water "Mattoni", very popular in the Czech Republic, is extracted and bottled right here to be exported to many countries.

Bozi Dar village

Jachymov central square with the former mint in the background

The Krusne Hory mountains with the highest peak "Klinovec" (1244 m above sea level) are favourites with tourists and sportsmen all year round. This region was known for iron, silver and tin extraction from earliest times. Uranium, discovered later, has been exploited for many years.

Horni Blatna

Abertamy settlement

The administrative centre of this region, the spa town Jachymov, was founded at the begining of the 16th century on the southern side of the Krusne Hory. The count Slik's mint is considered the first in Europe to have stamped a metallic coin named "thaler" or "tolar" said to have given the name to the present-day dollar.

Nejdek town: the church and the tower

The spa town Marianske Lazne

The radioactive water from Jáchymov springs was first used for medical treatment in 1906. The mountain village Boží Dar is located 1028 m above sea level and was founded by a Saxon Elector in the first half of the 16th century during a mining boom. Nowadays it is a very popular ski centre.

Mariánské Lázně  the spa zone

Frantiskovy Lazne  the spa zone

The excavation of tin brought glory to Horni Blatna. A very rich and attractive exposition at the local museum represents the industry of the town. The Saint Lawrence Church with a typical tower or nearby unique technical monument Blatensky Water Dam (that in ancient times supplied water to the tin mines) are also worth mentioning.

Frantiskovy Lazne  colonnade

The mountain settlement Abertamy is a well-known centre of winter and summer holiday. A local art gallery exhibits a rich collection of handicrafts.

Sokolov  the Castle

In the Krusne Hory forest massive we find the town of Nejdek with the remains of a small medieval castle with a Baroque church and nearby belfry. The local Ethnographic Museum exhibits traditional handicrafts that flourished here several centuries ago. Even today you can watch the master woodcarvers, industrious lace makers or listen to lyrical songs accompanied by zithers.

Spa Kynzvart

Once you stay in Karlovy Vary you can also visit other spa towns such as Marianske Lazne, Frantiskovy Lazne, Lazne Kynzvart or West Bohemian towns as ancient Cheb with some 12th century buildings and Sokolov.