Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary
Carlsbad
City
A bird's-eye view of Karlovy Vary
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Czech Republic
Region Karlovy Vary
District Karlovy Vary
Rivers Ohře, Teplá, Rolava
Elevation 447 m (1,467 ft)
Coordinates 50°14′N 12°52′E / 50.233°N 12.867°E / 50.233; 12.867Coordinates: 50°14′N 12°52′E / 50.233°N 12.867°E / 50.233; 12.867
Area 59.10 km2 (23 sq mi)
Population 49,781 (As of 2015[1])
Density 842/km2 (2,181/sq mi)
Founded around 1350
Mayor Ing. Petr Kulhánek
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 360 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Karlovy Vary
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.karlovyvary.cz
A geyser in Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary or Carlsbad (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkarlovɪ ˈvarɪ] ( listen); German: Karlsbad) is a spa town situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately 130 km (81 mi) west of Prague (Praha). It is named after Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, who founded the city in 1370. It is historically famous for its hot springs (13 main springs, about 300 smaller springs, and the warm-water Teplá River). It is the most visited spa town in the Czech Republic.[2]

History

An ancient late Bronze Age fortified settlement was found in Drahovice. A Slavic settlement on the site of Karlovy Vary is documented by findings in Tašovice and Sedlec. People lived in close proximity to the site as far back as the 13th century and they must have been aware of the curative effects of thermal springs.[3]

Around 1350, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor organized an expedition into the forests surrounding modern-day Karlovy Vary during a stay in Loket. On the site of a spring, he established a spa called the Horké Lázně u Lokte (Hot Spas at Loket). The location was subsequently named "Carlsbad" in German after the emperor, who extolled the healing powers of the hot springs, at least according to legend. Charles IV granted the town privileges on 14 August 1370. Earlier settlements can also be found on the outskirts of today's town.

An important political event took place in the town in 1819, with the issuing of the Carlsbad Decrees following a conference there. Initiated by the Austrian Minister of State Klemens von Metternich, the decrees were intended to implement anti-liberal censorship within the German Confederation.

Due to publications produced by physicians such as David Becher and Josef von Löschner, the town developed into a famous spa resort in the 19th century and was visited by many members of European aristocracy as well as celebrities from many fields of endeavour. It became even more popular after railway lines were completed from Prague to Cheb in 1870.

The number of visitors rose from 134 families in the 1756 season to 26,000 guests annually at the end of the 19th century. By 1911, that figure had reached 71,000, but the outbreak of World War I in 1914 greatly disrupted the tourism on which the town depended.

At the end of World War I in 1918, the large German-speaking population of Bohemia was incorporated into the new state of Czechoslovakia in accordance with the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919). As a result, the German-speaking majority of Karlovy Vary protested. A demonstration on 4 March 1919 passed peacefully, but later that month, six demonstrators were killed by Czech troops after a demonstration became unruly.[4]

In 1938, the majority German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland, became part of Nazi Germany according to the terms of the Munich Agreement. The areas included Karlovy Vary (whose name returned to Karlsbad). After World War II, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, the vast majority of the people of the town were forcibly expelled because of their German ethnicity. In accordance with the Beneš decrees, their property was confiscated without compensation, and the town was renamed again Karlovy Vary.

Since the end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the presence of Russian businesses in Karlovy Vary has steadily increased.

Panoramic views

A panorama showing most of the spa/historic section of Karlovy Vary. Key sites, from left to right, are: the dark grey, socialist-era Thermal Spring Colonnade (also Hot Spring Colonnade or Sprudel) featuring a glass chimney. Directly above is the twin-steeple Church of St. Mary Magdalene. The large, stately building on the central hill is the Hotel Imperial. Below, to the right of the square, is the Opera House. The Grandhotel Pupp is the large white building, far right.

Demographics

Year 1869 1900 1930 1939 1947 1961 1991 2001 2008 2013 2014 2016
Population[5][6] 14,185 42,653 54,652 53,339 31,322 50,034 56,291 53,857 53,708 53,737 49,864 49,326

In 2012, non-Czech residents were around 7% of the population of the Karlovy Vary region. After Prague, this is the highest proportion in the Czech Republic. The largest group of foreigners were Vietnamese, followed by Germans, Russians and Ukrainians.[7]

Transport

Local buses and cable cars take passengers to most areas of the city. The Imperial funicular is the oldest in Europe and the Diana funicular was the longest during the reign of Franz Joseph I. in Austria-Hungary.[8]

The city is accessible via the expressway R6 and inter-city public transport options include inter-city buses, Czech Railways and Deutsche Bahn via the Karlovy Vary–Johanngeorgenstadt railway. Karlovy Vary Airport is an international airport located 4.5 km south-east from the city, at the nearby village of Olšová Vrata. As of August, 2018 the airport is only serviced by scheduled flights to Moscow.

Churches

Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Entry to 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Mill Colonnade

Culture

In the 19th century, Karlovy Vary became a popular tourist destination, especially known for international celebrities who visited for spa treatment. The city is also known for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which is one of the oldest in the world and one of Europe's major film events.

It is also known for the popular Czech liqueur Becherovka and the production of the famous glass manufacturer Moser Glass, which is located in Karlovy Vary. The famous Karlovarské oplatky (Carlsbad wafers) originated in the city in 1867. It has also lent its name to "Carlsbad plums", candied stuffed zwetschgen.

The city has been used as the location for a number of film-shoots, including the 2006 films Last Holiday and box-office hit Casino Royale, both of which used the city's Grandhotel Pupp in different guises.

Karlovy Vary is also home to ice hockey club HC Karlovy Vary and its junior branch HC Energie Karlovy Vary (juniors).

People

Notable residents

Notable people associated with Karlovy Vary

Commemorative plaque for Peter I of Russia in Karlovy Vary

International relations

Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States[13] (after which Carlsbad Caverns National Park is named), Carlsbad, California, USA [14] Carlsbad Springs, Ontario, Canada, and Carlsbad, Texas, USA, take their names from Karlovy Vary's English name, Carlsbad. All of these places were so named because they were the sites of mineral springs or natural sources of mineral water.

Twin towns – sister cities

Karlovy Vary is twinned with:[15]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Vývoj návštěvnosti lázní v letech 2000 - 2011
  3. ↑ "Karlovy Vary - Urban Monument Zone".
  4. ↑ "Zdeněk Vališ: 4. březen 1919 v Kadani". Virtually.cz. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  5. ↑ Počet obyvatel Karlovarského kraje
  6. ↑ Historický lexikon obcí ČR 1869–2005
  7. ↑ Rozhlas.cz, Počet obyvatel Karlovarského kraje
  8. ↑ "Karlovy Vary – Unikátní lázně, do kterých se sjíždí celý svět". Stream.cz (in Czech).
  9. ↑ hu:Pulváry Károly
  10. ↑ http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/escape-from-carlsbad
  11. ↑ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40411/Kemal-Ataturk/24780/Military-career
  12. ↑ Johannes Baier: Goethe und die Thermalquellen von Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad, Tschechische Republik). In: Jahresberichte und Mitteilungen des Oberrheinischen Geologischen Vereins. N. F. Bd. 94, 2012, ISSN 0078-2947, S. 87–103.
  13. ↑ About Carlsbad, NM retrieved 2012-03-23
  14. ↑ City of Carlsbad - History of Carlsbad, retrieved 2012-03-23.
  15. ↑ "Zahraniční vztahy" (in Czech). Magistrát města Karlovy Vary. Retrieved 9 January 2017.

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

  • "Carlsbad", Southern Germany and Austria (2nd ed.), Coblenz: Karl Baedeker, 1871, OCLC 4090237
  • John Merrylees (1886). Carlsbad and its Environs.

Published in the 20th century

  • "Carlsbad", Guide through Germany, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, &c (9th ed.), Berlin: J.H. Herz, 1908, OCLC 36795367
  • "Carlsbad", The Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), New York: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1910, OCLC 14782424
  • "Carlsbad", Austria-Hungary (11th ed.), Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, 1911
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