24 July 2021 — the day the world said "yes"
On that day, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the World Heritage convened at its 44th session in Fuzhou (held virtually due to the pandemic) and decided to inscribe the "Great Spa Towns of Europe" on the World Heritage List. Marienbad became one of the eleven towns granted the highest level of international cultural heritage protection.
It was no accident. It was the result of decades of preparation, expert documentation and international cooperation among seven European states.
What are the Great Spa Towns of Europe?
Great Spa Towns of Europe is a transnational UNESCO inscription that recognises the unique European spa phenomenon — a cultural phenomenon that reached its highest expression from approximately 1700 to the 1930s.
It is not a list of individual buildings. It is the recognition of an entire system — the interplay of natural resources, architecture, urban planning, medicine, culture and social life that turned European spa towns into a unique civilisational phenomenon.
Eleven towns, seven countries
| Country | Town |
|---|---|
| Czechia | Marienbad, Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně |
| Germany | Baden-Baden, Bad Ems, Bad Kissingen |
| Austria | Baden bei Wien |
| Belgium | Spa |
| France | Vichy |
| Italy | Montecatini Terme |
| United Kingdom | Bath |
The Czech Republic is the only country with three towns in this inscription — and all three lie in western Bohemia, in the so-called Spa Triangle.
Why Marienbad specifically?
UNESCO assessed two criteria, and Marienbad met both:
Criterion (ii) — Exchange of values
The Great Spa Towns demonstrate an important exchange of innovative ideas that influenced the development of medicine, balneology and leisure activities from approximately 1700 to the 1930s.
Marienbad contributed to this criterion in a fundamental way: local physicians systematically studied the effects of mineral springs on human health, introduced innovative treatments (carbon dioxide baths, gas injections, climatotherapy) and shared their findings with the whole of Europe.
Criterion (iii) — Exceptional testimony
The Great Spa Towns represent exceptional testimony to the European spa phenomenon, which has its roots in antiquity but reached its highest expression from 1700 to the 1930s.
Marienbad embodies this testimony in its purest form — the town was founded as a planned spa town on a greenfield site in 1812. It did not grow organically over centuries — it was designed from the outset as a perfect healing environment.
What exactly does UNESCO protect?
Mineral springs
Marienbad has more than 100 mineral springs (of which 53 are captured and over 40 are located directly in town). The springs are rich in carbon dioxide and often in iron — a combination that is rare among European spas. These very springs form the foundation of the entire healing system and the reason the town exists at all.
The Main Colonnade
The neo-baroque cast-iron colonnade measuring 119 metres in length — the longest in the Czech Republic. Built in 1888–1889 to a design by the Viennese architects Miksch and Niedzielski. The cast-iron structure was manufactured at the Blansko ironworks and transported by rail. The ceiling features wooden coffered panelling and frescoes by the academic painter Josef Vyletal depicting "Mankind's Longing to Fly".
New Bath
The neo-Renaissance bath building from 1896, designed by Marienbad native Josef Schaffer after Italian Renaissance models. Inside are the Roman Baths with 21 columns of dark red Salzburg marble — an architectural gem of pan-European significance. More in the article 130 Years of the New Bath.
Cross Spring Pavilion
A monumental pavilion with a dome and 72 Ionic columns, built in 1818–1826. The Cross Spring is the most famous and historically most significant spring in the town.
Casino
A classicist building serving as the cultural centre of the town. The architectural highlight of Goethe Square.
Spa parks
English-style parks and botanical gardens designed by Václav Skalník from 1818 onwards. The Skalník Gardens are a unique example of integrating a healing landscape into the urban environment — forest, springs and architecture merge into a harmonious whole.
Singing Fountain
A modern addition to the historic heritage — a musical water fountain in front of the colonnade that has become one of the most photographed spots in the Czech Republic.
What makes Marienbad unique among the eleven towns?
A planned town from scratch
Unlike Bath, Vichy or Baden-Baden, which grew organically over centuries, Marienbad was founded as an entirely new town in 1812 by Abbot Karl Kaspar Reitenberger of the Teplá Monastery. The town was designed from the start as a perfect healing environment — urban planning, architecture and landscape all serve a single purpose.
Forest integration
Marienbad sits in a sheltered basin of the Slavkov Forest at an altitude of 630 metres. The forest is not merely a backdrop — it is part of the healing process. Climatotherapy and terrain cure use the forest environment as a therapeutic tool. This integration of town and forest is unique among spa towns.
Concentration of springs
None of the other ten towns has such a high concentration of mineral springs in such a small area. Over 40 springs right in the town — with varying chemical composition, temperature and healing effects — make possible an individualised drinking cure that cannot be found elsewhere.
Architectural innovation
The Main Colonnade is an example of the innovative use of cast-iron construction in spa architecture. Prefabricated cast-iron components were transported by rail and assembled on site — a technique that anticipated modern construction methods.
The role of the Teplá Monastery
The story of Marienbad begins with the Premonstratensian Teplá Monastery, founded in 1197 by the nobleman Hroznata. The monks managed the forests and lands on which the town would later arise for centuries. They knew about the mineral springs but did not exploit them systematically.
The turning point came with Abbot Reitenberger, who pushed through the construction of the spa town against the resistance of his fellow monks. In 1818, Marienbad was officially elevated to the status of a town — and within a few decades became one of the most elegant spa towns in Europe.
Famous guests — proof of global significance
That Marienbad was more than a regional health resort is demonstrated by the roster of guests who came here:
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1820–1823) — here, at the age of 72, he fell in love with the seventeen-year-old Ulrike von Levetzow
- Frédéric Chopin (1836) — came from Paris to be near his love, Maria Wodzinska. Today a festival, a street and a music school bear his name
- King Edward VII (1897–1909) — visited Marienbad nine times, founded the Royal Golf Club and turned the town into the "summer capital of European diplomacy"
- Emperor Franz Joseph I — his meeting with Edward VII in 1904 ranks among the most significant diplomatic events in the town's history
More about famous guests and the history of the town.
What UNESCO status means in practice
Protection
Any construction work within the protected zone must be coordinated with heritage authorities. The aim is to preserve the authentic character of the town — its architecture, park landscape and connection with nature.
Commitment
By inscribing the site, the Czech Republic committed itself to permanent heritage care, ongoing monitoring and regular reporting to UNESCO.
Prestige
UNESCO status is an internationally recognised mark of excellence. For Marienbad, it means heightened visibility on the world map of cultural tourism — alongside towns like Bath, Baden-Baden and Vichy.
Climate spa (since 2023)
In 2023, Marienbad was additionally granted the status of a climate spa — confirmation that the local microclimate is itself a healing resource. The combination of 630 m altitude, coniferous forests and clean air with minimal allergens creates conditions that demonstrably support the treatment of respiratory diseases.
Why visit the UNESCO town
Marienbad is not a museum. It is a living spa town where two centuries of tradition meet modern medicine. You can bathe in the same Roman Baths where King Edward VII once indulged. You can drink from the same springs that Goethe visited. And you can stroll through parks that Václav Skalník designed two hundred years ago.
That is what UNESCO protects — not individual buildings, but the entire story. The story of a place where nature, architecture and human care created something extraordinary.
More about planning your visit and accommodation in Marienbad.
