Home FIND VENUE Special Venues: Imperial Baths Karlovy Vary

Special Venues: Imperial Baths Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary's most beautiful spa house built for Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph

Oct 7, 2023

imperial_baths_karlovy_vary — Photo Credit: Imperial Baths Karlovy Vary

COMMEMORATING THE GOLDEN AGE OF EUROPEAN SPas

The Imperial Spa in Karlovy Vary is the largest, architecturally and artistically most richly equipped spa house in Karlovy Vary. The Imperial Baths in Karlovy Vary commemorate the golden age of European spa tourism and demonstrate the importance and wealth of Karlovy Vary at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries with its ornate and rich artistic decoration.

Its construction started on 27 April 1893. The project was commissioned by the well-known Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer, who had built 20 buildings at Vřídlo. The new building of the magnificent spa was built on the site of the old brewery, demolished in 1892.

The building of the Imperial Baths was built on the initiative of Carlsbad physicians and at the expense of the town of Carlsbad. The building was commissioned by the famous architectural firm Fellner and Helmer. Upon its inauguration, it was the most modern spa house in the world. The inauguration took place on 5 May 1895 to great interest from the world press and the general public. The spa building offered more than a hundred baths, but most importantly, a unique system of processing and transporting peat for the preparation of baths. In one day, the bath served nearly two thousand people.

A protected UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Imperial Spa was named after the Austrian Emperor and Czech King Franz Joseph. The building of the Imperial Baths was declared a national cultural monument in 2010 – placed alongside landmarks such as Prague Castle, Kynžvart Castle, or the castle and chateau in Bečov.

The Karlovy Vary Region decided to reconstruct the Imperial Baths in 2019. During the four-year restoration, the building was returned to its historical appearance, and the old spirit returned to the spa. The event can host memorable social and cultural events in a royal backdrop. Recently, the venue hosted the reception of the ESPA Congress.