Mariánské Lázně

Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region whose historic core has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2021 as part of the property The Great Spa Towns of Europe.

Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region. Its heritage conservation area is part of the serial transnational cultural property The Great Spa Towns of Europe, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2021 [2]. Besides Mariánské Lázně, the property includes two more towns in the Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary and Františkovy Lázně, as well as Baden-Baden, Bad Ems and Bad Kissingen in Germany, Spa in Belgium, Vichy in France, Montecatini Terme in Italy, Baden bei Wien in Austria and Bath in England [2].

History

The healing effects of the springs around the present town were known as early as the Middle Ages. In 1528, on the order of King Ferdinand I, they were examined for their salt content [1]. In 1805–1807 the monastery physician Josef Nehr built the first masonry house for spa guests, called "Zlatá koule", next to the Cross Spring (Křížový pramen), on the site of an earlier wooden hut [1]. The independent municipality of Mariánské Lázně came into being in 1812 by decision of Karl Kaspar Reitenberger, abbot of the Premonstratensian monastery in Teplá, who pushed through the building of the spa even against the resistance of the monastery's brothers [1]. On 6 November 1818, by a government decree issued by the Supreme Burgrave F. A. Libštejnský, Mariánské Lázně was proclaimed a "public spa place" [1].

With financial support from the Teplá monastery, the gardener Václav Skalník, the architect Jiří Fischer and the builder Anton Thurner transformed a marshy valley from 1819 onwards into a park town with Neoclassical and Empire-style houses, gazebos, pavilions and colonnades [1]. Johann Wolfgang Goethe visited the town repeatedly, first in 1820, and in 1823 he experienced a relationship with Ulrike von Levetzow here [1]. Other visitors included Prince Friedrich of Saxony, Count Kašpar Šternberk, Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Václav Jan Tomášek and Maria Szymanowska [1]. On 22 February 1836 the Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin visited Mariánské Lázně, having hurried here from Paris to see Maria Wodzińska [1]. On 29 May 1865 Mariánské Lázně was raised to the status of a town by a decree of Emperor Franz Joseph I, and on 1 June 1866 it was granted a municipal coat of arms by privilege [1]. Richard Wagner and Anton Bruckner are also mentioned among the town's visitors [1].

The period from 1870 to 1914 is described in the source as the "golden age of Mariánské Lázně": spa buildings, hotels, colonnades and churches were rebuilt or newly built to designs by the architects Friedrich Zickler, Josef Schaffer, Arnold Heymann and Josef Forberich, parks were extended and viewpoints created [1]. In 1872 the town gained a railway connection to Cheb, Vienna and Prague via Plzeň, and in 1898 also to Karlovy Vary [1]. King Edward VII of England first visited Mariánské Lázně in 1897 and returned eight more times [1].

Appearance and architecture

According to the National Heritage Institute, the group of European spa towns to which Mariánské Lázně belongs is characterised by a combination of treatments taken indoors and outdoors with a range of leisure activities, which shaped the distinctive form of the towns and their architecture [2]. The ensembles of spa buildings include bathhouses, spring pavilions, drinking halls and colonnades, complemented by assembly halls, casinos, theatres and other cultural facilities [2]. The buildings are set in a maintained landscape with mineral springs, parks, gardens, promenades and sports grounds, which served for physical activity as part of therapy, as well as for relaxation and entertainment [2].

Status and protection

The heritage conservation area in Mariánské Lázně was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2021, together with the areas in Karlovy Vary and Františkovy Lázně and eight other European spa towns, as a single property called The Great Spa Towns of Europe [2]. According to the National Heritage Institute, this phenomenon of European spa culture flourished above all from the early 18th century to the first third of the 20th century, and the spa towns were the only places that rivalled the great metropolises culturally and contributed to the democratisation of European society [2].

Commemoration of notable figures

Mariánské Lázně commemorates Fryderyk Chopin's stay with the Chopin House on Hlavní třída, originally called "U bílé labutě" ("At the White Swan"), which has a memorial plaque and a permanent exhibition, the Chopin Memorial [1]. The Chopin Society organises the Chopin Festival during the spa season, and a street and a basic art school in the town are named after the composer [1].