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Marianske Lazne.

Monks are the ones who made the opening of Marianske Lazne resort possible. To be more exact those were not only monks. It was Doctor Joseph Ner who suggested those monks from Tepla Monastery that they should use the springs for treating people. In that area there had already been resorts which attracted people and money with them. The biggest one, Karlovy Vary, was situated not far from there. Its prosperity confirmed the old belief which taught that health is everything.

In 1808 the village called Ushovice which was situated right next to those springs was given a new name in honor of the Virgin Mary – Marienbad. The first holiday season was opened. The first 80 patients lived in a wooden house near the spring of the Virgin Mary. In 1818 this place was given a status of a public resort. And in 1865 Marianske Lazne became a town. Nowadays it is the second most important city in Czech Republic. Its population is 15400 of people and there are 40 cold mineral springs enriched with carbon dioxide. That is where the name of the first Mary’s spring comes from – Smradoch (Stinky). The biggest and most famous springs nowadays are Ambrose’s, Cross Spring, Rudolph's Spring, Ferdinand's Spring and Forest Spring. But Marianske Lazne would remain a common small and little-known resort if it were not for two people. The first one was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who visited the resort in 1820. He was charmed by the beauty of nature of those lands and appreciated the eutherapeutic effect of Marianske waters. The resort became popular. Rich public came there and of course the investments for the development of health resorts and building of new houses were growing too. The second man who brought popularity to Marianske Lazne was Edward VII, a British king, who spent 9 seasons in this city. In 1897 he came here for the first time while he still was a king. Then he would come back to Marienbad over and over again. There were important meetings, the affairs of state were settled and intergovernmental deals were made there. The city was growing and blooming. In 1902 the Orthodox Church of Saint Vladimir which still has the sole porcelain iconostasis in Europe was built.

This resort city was not really touched by the WW I and WW II. However it was damaged much more by the forced dispossession of German people after the infamous decree. The Germans had to leave the city and it started to dwindle. Only in 1989 after the velvet revolution the traditions of the resort city were being revived and there were more people coming here on holiday.
The daily amount of water for the visitors is 1,5-2 liters. They treat intestine and locomotive diseases, kidney and urinary tracts’ diseases, and many others. Moreover they offer different kinds of massage and traditional medicine in health resorts.

Unlike Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne is more spacious. The houses are situated rather far from each other. There are very many gardens and parks. There is an iridescent singing fountain in the downtown of the city near the covered colonnade. There are so many colors. There are lots of all kinds of fountains and small monuments. The main street is called just like that – Main (Hlavni) Street. One can ski down the mountain slopes in winter. There are several elevators that function well. Moreover one can get to the park of architectural miniatures with the help of a ropeway. There are copies of Czech sights on a scale of 1 to 25 of their full size. They produce 4-5 new models in a specialized studio every year. All the models are made of plastic. So it comes out that a walk in that park stands for a weekly trip all over Czech Republic.

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