Imperial Spa
in the programme
Around the Czech Republic (Czech Radio Dvojka)

In the collection of Stanislav Burachovič we often come across charming prints. One of them is a view of the Karlovy Vary bourgeois brewery, which stood on the site of today's Imperial Spa since 1732. Even though the picture is idyllic and the summer beer garden is a real lure to sit in, the brewery was a thorn in the side of many Karlovy Vary townspeople. The tall smoking chimney right in the spa centre suggests why. Originally [...]

Since September 2023 we have been looking after the extensive archive collection of Stanislav Burachovich, which was entrusted to us free of charge by his family. We have started organizing, inventorying and preparing it for access to researchers and the public. It will take some time, but already now we want to share the selected treasures and inspirations. The first topic will be prosaic. It will be about money. The Imperial Spas attracted [...]

The landmark year of 1989 was much more blurred in Karlovy Vary than elsewhere in the country. Long before the revolution, communism shook hands with capitalism here. One such case was the casino in Císařské lázně, which opened in June 1988. The Communist Party-run country in the late 1980s was in desperate need of Western marks, shillings and dollars. Lubomír Štrougal's cabinet therefore made contacts [...]

With the arrival of the school year, the Imperial Baths have launched new educational programmes for kindergartens and schools. These programmes use experiential pedagogy and introduce children to the history of the spa industry and the importance of the spa. The youngest children (3-7 years old) in the "Spa with all the Senses" program learn about the spa through smell, taste and hearing while discovering the beauty of the historic building. They experience how the baths smell, [...]

On the occasion of the grand reopening of the Imperial Baths, a video was made in cooperation with Czech Television, where Marek Eben presents the Imperial Baths in their newly acquired form. The Imperial Baths, formerly a luxury spa facility sought after not only by Europe's elite, are beginning a new era. This national cultural monument is once again sought after for its uniqueness. The spa is becoming a cultural [...]

Hundreds of archive boxes and documents, thousands of maps, magazines and photographs and many unique regional monuments have been taken into the care of the Imperial Spas. At the request of the family of the late Dr. Burachovich, his life's historical work found a new home here. Last week, Mrs. Alena Burachovic signed the donation contract and the Imperial Spas are now beginning to work on the inventory and [...]