Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázně is a relatively young spa town, developed at the beginning of the 19th century in a valley where several excellent healing streams spring from the ground, though its inhabitants were aware of the springs as early as the 1200s. In 1528, King Ferdinand ordered these springs to be examined for salt content. By the end of the 18th century, the prelate of the Teplá Monastery, Dr. Jan Josef Nehr, had begun a systematic examination of their curative effects.
In 1805, he founded the first brick house for spa guests near the Cross Spring called "The Golden Globe", built at the site of a former wooden cabin.
The number of visitors increased rapidly and a building boom started. It was not long before a settlement was established on the estates of the Teplá Monastery, and named Mariánské Lázně in honor of the Virgin Mary, whose picture hung near the Cross Spring. In 1818 it was declared a public spa. The spa town boomed in the early 1820s. Between 1817 and 1823, three noted citizens - horticulturist Václav Skalník, architect Jiří Fischer and builder Anton Turner, financially supported by the abbot Karel Kašpar Reitenberg, turned this inhospitable and marshy valley into a beautiful park city featuring neoclassical houses, pergolas, pavilions and colonnades. The inspired city landscape designed by Václav Skalník has been, for the greater part, preserved until today. Numerous cultural, scientific and political personalities came from all over the world to visit Mariánské Lázně, notably Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Prince Friedrich of
The number of visitors did not abate in the following years, and the fame of the spa spread quickly. In 1865, Mariánské Lázně was declared a city. Various international celebrities visited the city during those days, such as F. Chopin, R. Wagner, and A. Bruckner.
Between 1870 and 1914, Mariánské Lázně reveled in its Golden Age, reflected today in its numerous reconstructed and newly built Art Nouveau spa houses, hotels, colonnades and churches, designed by architects such as Friedrich Zickler, Josef Schaffer, Arnold Heymann and Josef Forberich. Parks were enlarged, and romantic lookout points were created. In 1872, the city was connected by railway with Cheb,
The spa life remained active through the first half of the 20th century. Famous people were still drawn to Mariánské Lázně, such as T. G. Masaryk and E. Beneš. The city's connection with the world was extended when a new airport was built in nearby Skláře in 1927.
During the Second World War Mariánské Lázně became a hospital town. In the years immediately following the Second World War, the city started to develop again. The first residential neighborhoods and recreation complexes were built. In 1952, a new environment-friendly trolley-bus service was introduced. Regardless, the city still maintains its extraordinary and unique spa and tourist character. Approximately 40,000 visitors come to Mariánské Lázně each summer season.
The ongoing efforts to restore the original city character, its architecture, parks and its overall atmosphere have been in progress since 1990.