West Bohemian Spa
The westernmost region of the Czech Republic has for centuries been best known across the world for its spa towns. Pamper all your senses on a holiday in Carlsbad, Marienbad, Františkovy Lázně, the first radioactive spa in the world at Jáchymov or at Lázně Kynžvart with its wonderful neo-Classical chateau.
If spas with their colonnades, parks and natural springs are not your thing, head for the town of Cheb or the castle at Bečov nad Teplou, where you’ll find the reliquary of St Maurus, one of the most precious cultural sites in the country. Other places worth seeing are the Premonstratensian monastery at Teplá and Kynžvart Chateau housing Prince Metternich’s collection of curios from around the world. This region of wooded hills, extinct volcanoes and rock formations has also kept its wealth of natural beauty well preserved. This can best be seen on a stroll through the Slavkovský Forest, on the slopes and ridges of the Krušné Mountains, in the valley of the River Ohře and on a tour of the Soos Nature Reserve, which reminds visitors of a prehistoric landscape complete with prehistoric-looking lizards.
Carlsbad – This is one of the best known spa towns in the world, founded in the 14th century by Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Thermal and cold springs with curative properties are used for drinking cures, baths and other procedures. The town also hosts an annual international film festival and tours of the Moser glassworks and Jan Becher Museum (dedicated to the Becherovka liqueur) are also popular.
Františkovy Lázně – This spa town is named after Austrian Emperor, Franz I. It boasts a chessboard layout and a large number of neo-Classical and Empire buildings.
Jáchymov – This town founded in the early 16th century on a rich vein of silver ore became well known thanks to a silver coin called a tolar, which eventually lent its name to the American dollar. At the turn of the 19th century the Curies isolated radium from Jáchymov uranite. Mildly radioactive water is used to treat patients at the local spas, which include the Agricola Aquacentrum.
Marienbad – This is a spa town with more than a hundred mineral-rich springs. Several colonnades display distinctive architectural features, the most impressive being the neo-Baroque cast-iron colonnade dating from the late 19th century. Another popular day-trip destination is the Boheminium Miniature Park .
The Reliquary of St Maurus – This unique piece of artwork, the most precious treasure in the Czech Republic after the crown jewels, is displayed at the castle in Bečov nad Teplou.
Loket – This town boasts a conservation zone and an early Gothic castle on a rocky promontory above the River Ohře, later given a Renaissance makeover. Here you can view a glass, porcelain and book binding exhibition, and in the prison cells there is a multimedia exhibition of medieval instruments of torture and execution.
Kynžvart Chateau – This grand neo-Classical mansion, which once belonged to the well known Austrian politician and chancellor K. V. Metternich, houses a unique collection of 4,000 curios from across the globe. The chateau is surrounded by an English park dotted with small follies.
Cheb - "Špalíček"
Contact address
Destinační společnost Sokolovsko,o.p.s.
Husovy sady 2044
356 01 Sokolov
+420 352 605 600
+420 605 271 939
destinace-reditel@sokolovsko.cz
http://www.sokolovsko.cz
Weather in the region
today
15
7
7
next 2 days
Top
Information
