Drink cure

The alpha and omega of Karlovy Vary healing, the driving force of Karlovy Vary. The most important and most productive spring, which flows at a capacity of 2000l/min. If it were more, some of the springs located higher up would be threatened. If we imagine the Spring as a tree trunk, the other springs are branches of this tree. That is why it has happened several times in the past that other springs have lost their strength when the Vřídlo is in the bed of the Teplá River. The gushing of the Vřídla allows the outpouring of carbon dioxide gas. Today, the spring is used not only for drinking cures, baths and rinses, but also for the production of stone souvenirs.

It goes by an old tale that at this spring that Emperor Charles IV, the founder of our spas treated his injured limb. Regardless of whether this was true or not, this source ranks among the oldest traditional Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) drinking springs. The local inhabitants earlier termed it Fresser (Glutton). Above the spring bowl is a relief about the exploration of Karlovy Vary by Zörkler.

The Castle Spring (Schlossbrunn) was first discovered in 1769 at the Marketplace under the rock outcrop with the Castle Tower in the historical city centre of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad). During the very cold winter of 1784 when all the drinking water in the town was frozen, the water from the Castle Spring was distributed through pipes to the public fountains. The popular stone lining of the distribution lines at the time subsequently gave a stimulus for chemical analysis of the spring, which was done at the time by Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) Dr. David Becher. Depending on the Hot Spring, it often stopped flowing because it is the highest situated spring, which sensitively responds to each interference with the natural mechanism in the entire hot spring structure.

In essence, it is a clever technical gimmick. The water is from the common well of the Lower Castle Spring, but is pumped up a narrow tube by gaseous carbon dioxide up to this point 1 metre above the level of the Hot Spring. On the way, the water somewhat cools down and therefore has different physical and chemical properties. The pavilion was built in 1912. The tapping of the Castle Springs is currently located in the basement corridor under the, so-called, Solar Yard and swimming pool area of the Castle Spas.

The current Market Spring was uncovered during building construction works at the site of the historical marketplace in April 1838. It got its name according to the Marketplace, which was the historical centre of our town. The spring quickly became very popular, certainly because of its location. Since then it has disappeared and reappeared several times. This was also the location of the town chemist’s shop in which chemist Jan Becher made the famous Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) Becher Liqueur (Becherovka) for the first time in 1809.

The Mill Spring was named according to the mill, which was located nearby on the bank of the Teplá River at the close of the 18 th century. The spring itself was already known in the 16 th century and was popularly used for bathing. In 1705, the famous Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) physician F. Hoffman recommended it for drinking therapy. The source is also very popular among clients because the spring is bottled and sold. Near the spring bowl of the Mill Spring is a granite plaque with the original Latin text “Ode to the Hot Spring” by Bohemian humanist Bohuslav Hasištejnský from 1500.

Today, nobody would even believe that this was the most popular spring in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) in the 18th century, which in the course of time relinquished its place to another spring, the Mills Spring. The initial name was New Spring. Spa physicians treated patients directly at the site of the spring. One of the first was David Becher.

At the close of the 18 th century (1784), a small spring appeared on the slope of the cliff with the statue of St. Bernard. Till then, it was insignificant because the cliff was up to the channel of the Teplá River and the spring was often mixed with the river water and thus flowed away without any use. The spring was initially used to make spring salt. The Prince Wenceslas Spring as the only one can boast of two spring bowls. The thermal mineral water was a long time ago captured in two separate outflows. It currently comes from one source in spite of which there is a difference in the temperatures and yield of the spring. The reason is the longer route of the pipe to the spring bowl and although it is made of classic materials, it looks different from all the others. Concerning the carbon dioxide content, it is the same at both outlets - about 360 mg/l.

The name of this spring has changed several times in the past and it ranks among the oldest Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) springs. First mention dates back to the 16 th century. At the end of the 18 th century when the wooden colonnade of the New Spring was sited here. Till then the promenade area was swampy with small hot spring outflows and swampy surroundings full of snakes, frogs, and other amphibians. The spring was called the Garden Spring after the pavilions that used to protect it, then the Theresian Spring after the Empress Maria Theresia, the Elizabethan Spring after the then Empress Elisabeth, and after 1945 the Libuše Spring. An interesting fact about this spring was the difference in the temperatures of the water in the summer and in the winter, which was caused by the distance of the thermal spring source and the spring bowls from which its water is drunk.

This spring was not known at all until the mid-19th century. It was one of those springs that heated the river water. The local people bathed their horses in the river at the point where Bernard Cliff dropped to the river and they called it the Horse Spa. During the expansion of the promenade part and quarrying of the rock in 1845, the spring was tapped for the first time. Today the spring is covered by an extension from 1891, which follows the Mill Colonnade. The access to the spring bowl is protected by massive columns. Behind it is the exposed rock outcrop with prominent flaws and small outflows of plain water. It is a typical demonstration of the medium grainy muscovite-biotite Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) granite, which age is estimated at about 270 to 300 million years (Paleozoic, Carboniferous to Permian formation).

• Temperature: 63.2℃,
• Location: Pavilion at the Mill Colonnade,
• Yield: 4.8 l / min.

The Svoboda spring, although located about 400 m in a straight line from the Hot Spring, has a relatively high temperature (around 60°C). The spring was originally named Spa Spring because it was discovered during the excavation of the foundations of Spa III. Since it had a high temperature (approx. 67°C) and was channeled directly to Spa III, it was used for baths. Doctors began using it for drinking cures in 1872. However, its yield fluctuated, and it was insufficient for the original purpose, so it was diverted to places where, in 1891, a wooden octagonal gazebo decorated with wood carving was built above it. At that time, the spring was also renamed after the then Emperor Franz Joseph I. It retained this name until 1946, when it was renamed back to "Svoboda."

• Temperature: 42.8℃,
• Location: Military spa institute near Sadová colonnade,
• Yield: 2.2 l / min.

The Sadový spring is one of the northernmost emerging thermal springs ending a spring fault line. The spring was discovered during the excavation of the foundations of the Military Spa Institute and was captured with a wooden sump in 1854. Initially, the yield of the spring was relatively high and the thermal water spouted to a height of 8 cm, but unfortunately the yield decreased and today it tends to have intermittent flow. The original emergence is located in the spa basement in front of the statue of the Fairy of Healing Springs. For greater guest comfort, an adjacent vase was created right at the entrance to the hall.

• Temperature: 28.9℃,
• Location: Sadová Colonnade,
• Flow rate: 1.0 l / min.

This is the newest Karlovy Vary spring with thermal structure, which was made accessible to the public only in August 2001. The spring is located in the Sadová Colonnade in its western rotunda. Until then, no spring had emerged in the colonnade. The spring was discovered in the late 1980s by the hydrogeologist RNDr. Břetislav Vylita. It was named after the traditional snake statues decorating the rotunda − Hadí. The temperature of this spring differs quite a bit from the water of other springs. Compared to them, it has a lower mineralization of 3 g/l, a very low temperature of about 30°C, and a very high content of free dissolved carbon dioxide - over 1600 mg/l.