As you stroll through the center of Mariánské Lázné, whose German name Marienbad was made famous by Barbara's song and Alain Resnais' black and white film "Last Year at Marienbad", you will feel like to go back, with the wave of a magic wand, more than a century back. Built around a large wooded park imagined by the landscape designer Vaclav Skalnik, surrounded by imposing buildings with colorful facades enhanced with illuminations, balconies and bas-reliefs, Mariánské Lázné breathes newfound peace and serenity. The luxurious thermal baths are surrounded by flower-filled parks where visitors can laze around sipping their cups of water from the city's forty or so springs. They cure kidney and urinary disorders, the nervous and digestive system, but also diseases of the skin, respiratory tract or the locomotor system. It may seem incredible, but this region was still, two centuries ago, a valley of impassable woods and bubbling marshes. However, when the doctor of the nearby Teplá monastery, Johann Josef Nehr, demonstrated the extraordinary health effects of these springs, the thermal baths there developed at a fierce pace. An exponential development due in large part to the clairvoyance and tenacity of Abbot Karel Reitenberg, prior of the Abbey of Teplá. In the very first years of the 19th century, he decided to build from scratch a luxury spa town on the game lands owned by the abbey. The Abbot has principles: he dedicates the city to the Virgin Mary by baptizing it Mariánské Lázné (the baths of Mary, Marienbad in German). The station opened its doors in 1808 and quickly became the most posh in Europe: Goethe, Ibsen, Kipling, Kafka, Gorki, Tolstoï, Twain, Dvorak, Strauss, Chopin, Freud stayed there, wrote there, played there, fell in love there. and compose there.

The Czech Republic, a land of golf

In the thermal triangle formed by Mariánské Lázné, Karlovy Vary, and Frantiskovy Lázné are 10 golf courses, six of which have 18 holes. Some of the best known include the Royal Golf Club Marianské Lazne, the Golf Resort Karlovy Vary and the Astoria Golf Resort Cihelny. If the very first field, created in Mariánské Lázn ?, opened in 1905, it was not until the collapse of the Iron Curtain that this gentlemen's sport regained its glory in the early 90s. Since then, the country has come a long way: from a new destination on the map of Europe, the Czech Republic has become a destination sought after by both professionals and amateurs. The Royal Golf Club of Mariánské Lázné, now more than a century old, was founded by King Edward VII of England and built under the direction of a Scottish professional. It is a very pretty course in the forest, the most British of all Czech golf courses and a typical example of golf architecture from the end of the 19th century. Its somewhat short and fairly flat route is generally well maintained and has some real difficulties. The greens are quite modest in general, but very well defended by a number of bunkers. The golfer evolves in the middle of nature, among the coniferous trees, the birches and the majestic oaks. A course a bit old school, with its club house in the purest British style, magnificent, and even "royal" since the Queen of England in person awarded it this title in 2002.

Summer on the slopes

Apart from its exceptional architectural heritage, Mariánské Lázné is also known for the variety of its sports activities. Nearly 50 kilometers of paths through the English-style park allow relaxing walks in all seasons. In winter, circuits for cross-country skiing start near the golf course, alpine skiers will find the slopes under the Krakonoš hotel and the Hamelika observation tower, on the slopes named after Slalomáé (the slalom) and Krakonoška. Best of all, the Mariánky ski area operates even in summer. The cable car that serves the Krakonoš hotel runs every fifteen minutes, and in addition to hikers it carries cyclists, while transporting bicycles to the top is free.

Thermal season

Even today, the surrounding nature, the fresh air and the position of the spa place this city among the best Czech spas. The treatments in Mariánské Lázné are based on the consumption of curative spring water, rich in pure carbon dioxide and mineral salts. Like the grands crus, the best-known sources are those of La Croix, Rudolph, Caroline or Ferdinand. Mariánské Lázné also benefits from numerous infrastructures, a large stadium, several swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis courts and the famous century-old 18-hole golf course considered one of the best in Europe.
In these periods of great heat one of the essential “must” is certainly a walk under the elegant neoclassical cast iron colonnade, one of the most beautiful in Bohemia, which dates from 1899. During the thermal season, the classical musicians of Mariánské Lázné gives concerts there, and the city's symphony orchestra plays there at exceptional events such as the Frédéric Chopin international music festival in August. Along the way, festival-goers will taste the water from the Kéížový pramen spring, which has beneficial effects for the kidneys, while intoxicating with melodious notes. Not far from there, they will stop by the famous singing fountain, where they will be able to hear one of the most famous pieces of classical music every odd hour. It seems that music has always had serious healing properties. It softens manners and gives all those who accompany it a beautiful timbre of voices.

David Raynal

More:
Marianske Lazne (Marienbad)
www.marienbad.cz/en

Stay in a prestigious address

The Hotel Esplanade Spa & Golf Resort *****

Built in 1911 by the eminent architect Arnold Heymann the Esplanade Spa & Golf Resort Hotel is and always has been the most spectacular hotel in Marianské Lazné. This prestigious establishment located in a beautiful park with a unique view of the city, is just 5 minutes from one of the city's emblems, the elegant neoclassical cast-iron colonnade dating from the end of the 19th century. Its restaurant offers a unique selection of vintage wines in a delicious Edward VII atmosphere. The 110 luxury rooms, the 30 suites and the two royal suites, stand out for their top-of-the-range equipment, direct telephone line and voicemail, fax internet access, safe, minibar, satellite TV with 200 channels and satellite TV. air conditioning with individual temperature control. In addition to a careful decoration in the style and delightfully old-fashioned ambience of palaces from the turn of the last century, the rooms all have spacious marble bathrooms with whirlpool tub and shower, hairdryer, telephone and mirror beauty. separate. A stopover at the spa which offers a wide range of Czech or international massages and in the vast mid-baroque, mid-Roman swimming pool will certainly end up seducing you. It might give you the desire to organize a company seminar or a private ceremony in the large conference room with a capacity of 200 people or one of the four meeting rooms that bear the names of the great musicians. classics come to celebrate their art in the region.

Address:
Hotel Esplanade Spa & Golf Resort
Karlovarska 438, 353 01 Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic
Site: www.esplanade-marienbad.cz
Email: hotel@esplanade-marienbad.cz
Phone:+ 420 354 676 111
Reception
Phone:+ 420 354 676 111
Fax: + 420 354 627 850