Karlovy Vary is famous not only for its unique spa treatment, but also for its unique spa buildings. The main spa promenade is lined with beautiful colonnades, spa houses, hotels and other important buildings that are certainly worthy of your admiration. One of the most admired sights in Karlovy Vary are the spa colonnades. Since the beginning of the spa industry, the colonnades have provided protection from the sun, rain and snow for spa guests. Under their roofs you will find all the beneficial mineral springs that are necessary for healing. There are 5 of them in Karlovy Vary and each one is unique.
Mill Colonnade
Today's pseudo-renaissance stone colonnade was built between 1871 and 1881 according to the project of the outstanding Czech architect Josef Zítek. In 1891 - 1892, the colonnade was extended by a new northern pavilion above the Rock Spring. In this colonnade, the largest in Karlovy Vary, you can find five mineral springs. The attic of the colonnade is complemented by twelve sandstone allegorical statues representing the different months of the year.
Park Colonnade
The decorated cast-iron colonnade was originally part of a two-armed covered promenade veranda in today's Dvořák Gardens. The concert and restaurant hall was built between 1880 and 1881 by the Karlovy Vary builder Josef Waldert. In 1965, however, part of the entire colonnade was demolished due to dilapidation and only the eastern wing of the promenade section was preserved. In 2000 - 2002, the colonnade was completely reconstructed and a new outlet of the Snake Spring was brought up in the colonnade.
Market Colonnade
According to the legend, Emperor Charles IV treated his ailing limbs at this local spring. The springs were originally protected by a simple columned gazebo and a short promenade hall. The wooden colonnade in Swiss style was built on the site of the old Karlovy Vary town hall in 1882-1883 based on the project of the famous Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. In 1904-1905 the colonnade was extended over the outlet of the Market Spring according to the design of Franz Drobny, the director of the city building authority.
Castle Colonnade
In 1910 - 1912, an Art Nouveau colonnade was built here according to the design of the famous Viennese architect Johann Friedrich Ohmann. The colonnade, consisting of a set of three separate units, the Lower Castle Spring Colonnade, the Sun Bath and the Upper Castle Spring Colonnade, was intended to connect the area above the Castle Spring with the Market Colonnade and create a unified promenade unit. In 2000 - 2001 the dilapidated building of the Castle Colonnade was rebuilt according to the project of Ing. arch. Alexander Mikoláš into a complex medical facility called the Castle Spa.
Hot Spring Colonnade
Originally, only light shelters and pavilions stood over the Hot Spring, which could be easily restored after repeated explosions and surprising thermal overflows. The first unified architectural design of the area around the Hot Spring came in 1826, when the first Empire-style Spring Colonnade was built. In 1878-1879, a new cast-iron Spring Colonnade in pseudo-Renaissance style was then built in its place, designed by the Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. However, the colonnade was dismantled in 1939 due to corrosion and was replaced by a wooden temporary structure for the next 27 years. In 1975, a new modern glass and reinforced concrete colonnade in functionalist style was opened above the Wing, built according to the project of Ing. arch. Jaroslav Otruba.
Historical Monuments of Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is the most popular and most visited spa city in the Czech Republic. The current appearance of the city was created mainly at the end of the 19th century in the style of historicism and Art Nouveau. The entire spa center can be called a showcase of architectural gems without exaggeration. In Karlovy Vary you can find hundreds of different historical buildings and spa houses from the past. Let's introduce some of them at random:
Emperor Spa
Directly opposite the Carlsbad Plaza Hotel is a national cultural monument, the impressive Emperor Spa building. This historic spa building was built between 1893 and 1895 to a design by the famous Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. In its time, the Emperor Spa used to be the most modern spa facility in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire. The ornate architecture of the building mimics the French Renaissance, combining Renaissance and Baroque building elements with Art Nouveau decorative motifs. The interiors of the spa building contained all the latest modern conveniences and extraordinary comfort of that time. The building included the so-called Zander Hall with mechanical exercise equipment for Swedish therapeutic gymnastics according to Dr. Zander's method. The Peat Pavilion for the preparation of peat for baths was connected to the spa building by an underground corridor. In recent years, the spa building, which has been declared a National Cultural Monument, has been undergoing gradual restoration.
Castle Colonnade
The Castle Spring first appeared in 1769 under the Castle Tower in the historical center of Karlovy Vary. The first gazebo was built over the Castle Spring in 1797. In 1830, the gazebo above the Castle Spring was then supplemented by a new wooden colonnade designed by the architect Josef Esch. Between 1910 and 1912, a new Art Nouveau colonnade was built by the Karlovy Vary architect Friedrich Seitz according to the design of the famous Viennese architect Johann Friedrich Ohmann. The colonnade, which consisted of a set of three separate units, the Lower Castle Spring Colonnade, the Sun Bath and the Upper Castle Spring Colonnade, was intended to connect the area above the Castle Spring with the Market Colonnade and create a unified promenade unit. In 2000 - 2001 the dilapidated building of the Castle Colonnade was rebuilt according to the project of Ing. arch. Alexander Mikoláš into a complex medical facility called the Castle Spa.
Church of St. Mary Magdalene
The originally medieval Gothic church of St. Mary Magdalene was built in the second half of the 14th century on a hill above the Hot Spring in the heart of Karlovy Vary. At the beginning of the 18th century, however, after several fires, the church was in very poor condition. It was therefore decided to demolish it and build a new church. This High Baroque deanery church of St. Mary Magdalene was built between 1733 and 1736 according to the plans of the renowned Czech architect Kilian Ignác Dientzenhofer. In 2010, this beautiful sanctuary was declared a National Cultural Monument of the Czech Republic.
Orthodox Church of Sts. Peter and Paul
The Byzantine Orthodox Church of Sts. Peter and Paul was built between 1893 and 1898 according to the plans of architect Gustav Widemann. The model for the building was the Byzantine-Old Russian church in Ostankino near Moscow. The richly decorated Orthodox church on the plan of a Greek cross is topped with five gilded domes. The walls of the church are complemented by rich ornamental sculptural and figurative paintings. The interior of the church consists of a rich majolica wooden iconostasis with oil icons of saints by the painter Tjurin.
St. Luke's Anglican Church
The Anglican pseudo-Gothic church of St. Luke's was built in 1876-1877 by Josef Slowak, an architect from Karlovy Vary. The foundation stone of the building was laid in 1876. The consecration of the new church took place on June 24, 1877. The building is based on the romantic concept of English pseudo-Gothic, using unplastered bare masonry, which gives the building a foreign touch. The two-nave church on a Latin cross plan with massive supporting pillars is topped by a distinctive, diagonally built wooden square tower with a gallery above the crossing of the nave. The church currently houses a wax museum.
Karlovy Vary City Theater
Although the first surviving references to the existence of theater life in Karlovy Vary date back to the beginning of the 18th century, the construction of the magnificent building of the present theater did not begin until 1884, just a month after the demolition of the old one, which was located approximately on the site of the present building. The design of the theater itself was entrusted to Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, and the entire structure was built in just 20 months. The creation of the magnificent artistic masterpieces, the hand-painted curtain with a motif celebrating the art of poetry, the fresco above the proscenium and the painting on the ceiling vault were created by the renowned Viennese artists, the brothers Gustav and Ernest Klimt and Franz Matsch.
