Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Museum Jáchymov
























History
The former Royal Mint is located on the square over the town hall of famous mining town and it was built with the pomp proportional to its importance. The two-storey house from Renaissance age has a tower-type bay window, great hall and rectangular courtyard. The house was built through the years 1534-1536. Present state of the building is the result of several reconstructions. The core of the house as well as several window flannings, portal jambs, rare chimney hook or large basement remained preserved to these days. The artistically most valuable part is the prismatic bay window with the haunch reinforced with groins. There is a year 1536 signed in the middle of its window flanning. Mining shields around the sign of the year are modern. The building served as the Royal Mint till the beginning of 17th century. The forefront and the adaptation of the portal are baroque. The mining and metallurgic administration of Jáchymov resided here since 19th century. The museum has resided here since 1964, the reconstruction of the whole building took place through the end of 80´s and the beginning of 90´s. Present state is the result of this extensive reconstruction. The Royal Mint belongs to the first category monuments.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Camera Obscura Arbour















In the past, a restaurant for excursionists and the "U Tří křížů" (Three Crosses) Café had stood on the plane of the former Rudolfova výšina (Rudolf's Height) below the Three Crosses. In the 19th century, the site belonged among the most frequently visited outing destinations of the spa guests. The original Camera Obscura (Dark Chamber) arbour where pictures of the landscape were projected on the wall of the dark chamber used to stand in the restaurant garden. The original arbour had fallen victim to a devastating overnight windstorm in 1990. The present-day wooden lookout arbour was built on its site 1997 thanks to the initiative aimed at the restoration and revival of vanished or dilapidated structures in the spa woods.

Felix Zawojski House















Master tailor Felix Zawojski had this beautiful Art Nouveau house built in 1900 for his fashion salon in Tržiště (Market) Street in the historical centre of the town. The impressive Art Nouveau building was designed by Viennese architect Karl Haybäck. In the early 20th century, Zawojski's salon was the most popular and most stylish fashion studio in Karlovy Vary. It enjoyed a very exclusive clientele from all over Europe. Zawojski counted royalty among his customers, including English King Edward VII or Muzaffar Eddin, Shah of Persia, to name a few. In 1910, the very first burgher house lift in Karlovy Vary was installed in this building. The following year, Felix Zawojski sold the house. A branch of Živnostenská banka (Czech Trade Bank) was established in it. Between 2006 and 2008, it underwent a complete reconstruction and conversion into a luxury hotel in the old-world style. The sophisticatedly restored Art Nouveau façade won 1st prize in the "2007 Façade of the Year" competition.

Lookout of Charles IV















The oldest standing lookout tower in Karlovy Vary was erected on a popular observation point in the spa woods above the town in 1876. The Pseudo-Gothic brick lookout tower resembling a minaret with two lookout galleries was built as a copy of a lookout tower standing in Schleswig in northern Germany. The lookout tower was named after Emperor Franz Joseph and it was opened to the public in the spa season of 1877. The lookout tower also served as an arbour and after its opening, it soon became very popular among the spa guests. Fireworks were fired from the first lookout gallery at various festive occasions. Following World War I, the lookout tower was renamed to Josef's Lookout and it has been known as the Lookout of Charles IV since the end of World War II. In 2001, the unique historical structure underwent an extensive reconstruction.

http://www.karlovyvary.cz/en/lookout-charles-iv

Elizabeth Baths

























The magnificent and vast Pseudo-Baroque complex of spa buildings resembling a castle was built between 1905 and 1906 according to the design of the Director of the Municipal Building Office, Franz Drobny, in the northern part of the centre of Karlovy Vary. The building was named Alžbětiny lázně (Elizabeth Baths) in memory of the murdered wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I, Empress Elisabeth, commonly known as Sisi. A French-style park with a fountain and a four-rowed alley was founded in front of the spa, i.e. the present-day Smetana Park. The grand opening of the Elizabeth Baths took place on 18 June 1906. The new spa facility provided almost two thousand procedures every day. Following the foundation of Czechoslovakia, the complex was renamed to Lázně V (Spa V). A major renovation of the interior furnishings and equipment was carried out between 1969 and 1973, during which a modern rehabilitation indoor swimming pool with two saunas were built in the atrium. As a result of an extensive reconstruction effected in the early 21st century, the Elizabeth Baths have become the largest balneological facility in Karlovy Vary, which provides more than 60 spa procedures exploiting thermal water and peat.

http://www.karlovyvary.cz/en/elizabeth-baths

Monday, November 18, 2013

Castle Colonnade






















The seep of the Zámecký pramen (Castle Spring) first appeared in 1769 below Zámecká věž (Castle Tower) in the historical centre of Karlovy Vary. After performing a chemical analysis of the spring, Karlsbad physician Dr. David Becher proposed the exploitation of the mineral water for balneological purposes. The first arbour was built over the Castle Spring in 1797. An eruption of the Hot Spring in 1809 caused the Castle Spring to disappear and to reappear only 14 years later. In 1830, a new wooden colonnade designed by architect Josef Esch was built next to the arbour arching over the Castle Spring. A new Art Nouveau colonnade according to the design of renowned Viennese architect Johann Friedrich Ohmann was constructed on the site in the years 1910 and 1912. The colonnade consisting of three separate structures, i.e. the Lower Castle Spring Colonnade, the Sun Bath, and the Upper Castle Spring Colonnade, was to connect the area above the Castle Spring with the Market Colonnade in order to create a single promenade. In 1913, the rear side of the seep of the Lower Castle Spring was complemented with a monumental Art Nouveau relief of the Spirit of the Springs carved into sinter by Viennese sculptor Wenzel Hejda. In 2000 and 2001, the dilapidated Castle Colonnade was converted into the Zámecké lázně (Castle Spa) Spa and Wellness Centre designed by architect Alexandr Mikoláš. Today, the Castle Spa is accessible only to its guests. Nevertheless, the arbour with the Upper Castle Spring remains open to the public and the Lower Castle Spring has been diverted to the Market Colonnade. 

Market Colonnade






















The seep of the mineral spring located in the historical Tržiště (Market) below Zámecká věž (Castle Tower), which is known as the Charles IV Spring, was originally called Žrout (Glutton) and according to legend, Emperor Charles IV himself healed is ailing limbs with its waters. The oldest baths in Karlovy Vary once stood on this site. The spring seeps were originally protected by a simple columnar arbour and a short promenade hall. The current richly carved wooden colonnade was built in Swiss style on the site of the old Town Hall according to the design of famous Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer between the years 1882 and 1879. The own construction of the colonnade, intended as a temporary structure, was commissioned to master carpenter Oesterreicher from Vienna. During 1904 and 1905, the colonnade was prolonged to cover the seep of the Market Spring based on the design of the Director of the Municipal Building Office, Franz Drobny.