Young and Healthy
Mariánské Lázně, in the extreme west of the Czech Republic, is one of the country’s many spa towns and relatively young as Czech municipalities are concerned.
While the local carbon dioxide and iron rich mineral springs have been known about and human settlements made around them since the 12th century, the name Mariánské Lázně was not used until 1808 and did not receive its charter as a town until sixty years after that.
The city grew rapidly and experienced the height of its popularity through the late 1800s and early 1900s. Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, Czar Nicholas II, King Edward VII and Frédéric Chopin were just a few of the celebrities and royalty from around the world who came to partake in the city’s healing waters. Today, it is considered one of Europe’s most attractive spa towns.
In Harmony With the Surroundings
The early international appeal of Mariánské Lázně also attracted some very talented architects and landscapers to the town who not only filled it with well planned parks and a variety of Neo-Classicist, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau structures; but also ensured that what they built worked in harmony with the pre existing forests and woodland in the locality. As a result of this care and planning, the attraction of the city extends beyond its limits.
After the fall of Socialism in 1989, great efforts were made to restore the city to its former glories; the result of those efforts was the town becoming a designated conservation area in 1992.
The most famous building in the city is the Colonnade; a cast iron structure with wood and fresco ceilings that dates to 1889. While many colonnades in other spa towns in Europe have been destroyed, fallen into disrepair or modernized beyond recognition; this one is a very good example of how this type of structure originally appeared at the time of the city’s heyday.
To Your Health
The waters here are said to be beneficial to a wide range of ailments and several of the 100 or so springs in and around the town are tapped and you are free to drink from them; admittedly, some taste much better than others.
Beyond the springs and spas, there are several activities to keep you busy in and around the town including walking and hiking trails in the surrounding mountains and forests, skiing areas and a golf course to name a few.
Learning More
To find out more about Mariánské Lázně, all it has to offer and good times to visit; follow this link to the town web site:
Official website of Mariánské Lázně
Beyond Prague 