2024-08-29 13:03:20
In the charming Bohemian spa town of Mariaánské Lázně, you can soak in the same bath as the English monarch Edward VII and you can drink in the body. There are only 150 cold mineral springs available for drinking and bathing treatments – each said to be good for specific ailments.
Wow! I was actually lying in a black marble iron bath in which England’s King Edward VII once bathed. My view wanders over the walls with decorative decorative tiles and the painted ceiling.
Opposite the bathroom is another royal highlight: an armchair with a symmetrical shape – a product made for an overweight king who wants to lose weight. As I lie in the shower and dream away, the healing water containing carbon dioxide takes effect. Small bubbles form on my skin that promote blood flow.
The royal bathhouse from 1896 is in excellent condition; It is located in “Hotel Nové Lázne” in the center of Marienbad (Marianske Lazne). Until the fall of communism, there was a public spa bath in the building.
All guests are here for treatment. Later the building was converted into a hotel, with two treatment rooms that each create a large suite. “Nove Lázne” displays many nostalgic charms: large crystal chandeliers, staircases with delicate bronze railings, tall, long corridors with large double doors and a thick carpet floor that causes all the noise.
The treatment rooms are now located in the basement, where there is another jewel: the Roman bath, rebuilt in 1896. There, visitors can immerse themselves in two pools between the shining columns and statues under a painted vault – just as famous rulers once did. King Edward VII, who spent his summers in Mariaánské Lázně from 1897 to 1909, also had fun here.
Kings and queens drank the healing waters at Marienbad
The spa town in the West Bohemian spa triangle was an important political center in Europe at the time. Kings and queens drank healing water from their sippy cups. Thinkers, poets and scientists enjoy inactivity: for example, the doctor and psychologist Sigmund Freud, the writer Franz Kafka, the composers Gustav Mahler and Richard Wagner, the philosopher Alfred Nobel, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the piano virtuoso Frédéric Chopin . At the age of 72, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe fell in love with 17-year-old Ulrike von Levetzow and left Marienbad deeply depressed after receiving only a vague response to his marriage proposal.
Nowadays, less famous visitors walk through the 113 meter long cast iron colonnade, past the musical fountain and through the park to the pavilion, where the water of the Karoline and Rudolf fountains gushes out from inside a spring and you can taste the healing water. Czechs and Germans are the largest groups of visitors, but there are also Asians and Americans.
There have always been clear rules: “Spa guests should walk in the tower, take the spring water in small breasts and walk back and forth so that the water flows well through the internal organs,” Jitka Sindekárová explain. There are special tools for this. At first they were cups made of clay or glass, then cups with a spout and a handle for holding were made. There is a whole collection of them in the city museum.
Since the healing water is very sweet – some say like water rust – Marienbad housewives understand a deal. They sell homemade sweets to spa guests – wafers. Sindekárová said: “They pressed two flat breads filled with hazelnuts that were roasted between hot irons, and sold it to the guests. “They smell and drive away the bad taste after drinking.”
Like Karlovy Vary, the health resort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mariaánské Lázně, which, like the larger and more noble Karlovy Vary, which is about 40 kilometers away, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site of the most important spa towns of Europe since 2021, is also known for Your Music Source – your built-in music source. 1986 in which a piece of music with an impressive water feature played at all odd hours took place. Controlled by a computer, ten geysers are shot up and water is pumped from more than 250 nozzles in sync with the music. In addition to classical music, the repertoire also includes more modern pieces by Karel Gott and Vangelis.
As early as 1818, Mariaánské Lázně was officially declared a health resort. The city experienced its boom in the second half of the 19th century. At that time, investors and noble families built their houses and hotels, located in the hills around the great park. The magnificent Art Nouveau building survived two world wars and socialism almost unscathed. However, there is no money for treatment. The palaces fell into disrepair and the sun-drenched Habsburg yellow.
After the fall of the Wall, careful repairs were made. Today you can find modern comfort in old walls everywhere. For example, in “Hvezda Hotel” next to St. “This was once a hotel for world famous people,” said guide Sindekárová.
Guests sit in a swimming pool without water
Today’s wellness offerings at Marienbad continue to be based on historical treatments. Head doctor Markéta Hovorková said at Hotel Nové Lázne: “Our treatments are based on natural substances, that is on springs, carbon dioxide, moor, healing climate.”
There are 150 cold mineral springs in the city only for drinking and bathing treatments. Each is good for specific ailments. The water from the Caroline spring contains iron and is used for urological diseases. A mild laxative spring water is effective for gastrointestinal diseases and metabolic disorders. A special feature are gas syringes, in which carbon dioxide from Marienquelle is injected under the skin through a thin needle. This is the first decision to relieve pain.
Another experience is the dry gas bath in the historic “Maria Spa Hotel”. Spa guests sit in a swimming pool without water. Carbon dioxide flows in up to waist level. This is said to lower blood pressure and help with menopause symptoms. They will be entertained while bathing in gas with a laser show about the history of the city.
It is not known whether King Edward VII had a character in the gas pool here. But you can have fun following his steps elsewhere: at “Royal Golf Club Marianske Lazne”. In 1905 it was opened personally by the king. It is the oldest golf course in the Czech Republic and one of the oldest in all of Europe.
Tips and information:
arrival: Marienbad is located around 270 kilometers from Munich and 350 kilometers from Berlin in the West Bohemian spa corner. Train connections, for example, from Munich with a change in Pilsen or from Berlin via Prague to Marienbad.
Accommodation: The largest hotel chain is Ensana (ensanahotels.com
Advice: The Karlovy Vary Region Card offers free entry or discounts to 50 monuments and attractions as well as free use of public transport in Mariaánské Lázně. Two days is equivalent to 18 euros, four days 26 euros per person (karlovyvarycard.cz/de
Explanation: Marianske Lazne Tourist Information Office, marianskelazne.cz/de
Participation in the trip is supported by Karlovy Vary Region. Our standards of transparency and journalistic freedom can be seen in go2.as/unabhaengigkeit
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