Karlovy Vary is a magical city! Its source is an ancient geological fault, along the line of which miraculous thermal springs emerge and perhaps through which the mysterious earth magnetism also emanates. Both natural forces have a positive effect on human health.
Karlovy Vary is the largest spa city in the Czech Republic in terms of annual numbers of patients and treatments provided. During its existence, more than 6 million patients from all over the world have been treated here. The main phenomenon of the town is the spa treatment. More than 80 hot springs rise here. For spa purposes, 15 large thermal springs are used, the temperature of which varies between 34 and 73 degrees Celsius.
The spa is located in the western part of the Czech Republic at the confluence of the Teplá and Ohře rivers at an altitude of 376 meters. The city is surrounded by three mountain ranges: the Ore Mountains, the Doupov Mountains and the Slavkov Forest. The town is surrounded by forested hills on all sides. This morphological situation gives Karlovy Vary an intense feeling of protection from the dangers of the surrounding world full of stress and worries.
Archaeological findings prove human settlement near the Karlovy Vary springs since the Middle Stone Age. The springs on the site of the later Karlovy Vary were well known and used by our ancestors in ancient times. According to the legend, the Czech King Charles IV discovered the Karlovy Vary springs while hunting deer around 1350. On 14 August 1370, the monarch granted the spa at the Hot Spring the privileges of a free royal town. The history of Karlovy Vary has always been inextricably linked to the healing effects of its mineral springs. Today's architectural appearance of the city was mostly influenced by the building activity at the end of the 19th century in the spirit of historicism and Art Nouveau. It left a number of distinctive buildings whose architecture reveals the strong artistic influence of Habsburg Vienna. One of these is the exclusive Carlsbad Plaza Hotel.
Time seemed to pass a little slower, more dignified or better said, more festive. The charming architecture, the colonnades with the promenading spa guests and the colorful mixture of foreign languages, the endless rhythmic pulse of the Hot Spring, the gurgling of the springs and their hot breath, the sweet smell of wafers, the tunes of the spa orchestra and the ever-present kind spirit of friendship and togetherness between people - this is the genius loci of Karlovy Vary.
