Start of the spa season

The tradition of kicking off the spa season in Mariánské Lázně goes back a long way. In 2008 the town celebrated this tradition’s 200^th anniversary. The season used to officially begin on May 1^st with a concert on the colonnade. The first Sunday in May marks the ceremonial consecration of the springs.

This tradition continues today with one exception – the season opens and the springs are blessed on the second weekend in May. The ceremony is still opened with a Friday evening concert by the West Bohemian Symphonic Orchestra. The consecration ceremonies begin on Saturday with a holy mass in the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and continue with a grand parade around the Reitenberger memorial to the Cross Spring. With the consecration of the springs, the season is officially open.

The consecration of springs in the beginning of the spring season is an ages-old tradition. Our predecessors used to faithfully clean even the smallest of artesian wells in the spring, much less the valuable healing springs.

Actual program

The program for the start of the spa season can be found in the calendar of events

Opening of the spa season 2011

203th spa season beginns in Mariánske Lazne on Friday the 13th of May and lasts till Sunday the 15th of May

200^th anniversary of the start of the spa season in Mariánské Lázně (1808 - 2008)

The year of 2008 carried the spirit of celebrations, when the monastery physician Jan Josef Nehr opened the first spa season in temporary conditions. The official program was launched as per tradition with a performance by the Youth Brass Orchestra and majorettes from the Fryderyk Chopin Art School. The young musicians, together with the town’s ceremonial visitors in period costumes, led the entire procession along the Hlavní Třída main boulevard to the Mariánské Lázně colonnade. The strictly secular start of the spa season, as per tradition, preceded the ecclesiastical start which is the center point of the annual program.

The ceremonial holy mass in the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on Goethe Square was celebrated with the participation of members of the Premonstrate Order and other spiritual figures including the bishop of Plzeň Monsieur František Radkovský. In the rather packed church, the mayor Zdeněk Král represented the town, while the Healing Spa joint stock company was represented by its CEO Leo Novobilský. The members of the Premonstrate order blessed the town that they founded as well as the many satisfied visitors which would love to return here often. After the holy mass, the holy procession continued towards the colonnade to the sounds of church bells, followed by a host of official guests and curious visitors. Before the traditional blessing of the mineral springs, the members of the order traditionally release their hold of the town, having been founded thanks to the enlightenment of one of the abbots of the Tepelský Monastery, Karel Kašpar Reitenberger.

Photo gallery of the start of the spa season

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