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 a wealthy clientele at the time of their creation. In interwar Czechoslovakia, they were more accessible, but still quite expensive. How much did the local baths actually cost? And who could afford them?
In 1895, when the Imperial Spas were opened, only a wealthy customer could really enjoy them. A bath in the princely bath cost 8 gold coins, which corresponds to today's 3,350 Czech crowns in purchasing power parity. A pass for twenty visits to the Institute for Therapeutic Mechanics, a period fitness centre in Zander Hall, cost 50 Austrian crowns in 1900. Converted to today's Czech crowns, it is approximately 10,500 CZK.
The leaflet "The rate in the city spa of Karlovy Vary" informs us about the situation in the interwar era. The most expensive bath in the Imperial Spas at that time cost 80 CZK. It took place in the prince's bathroom and clients could choose between a spring, peat or carbonate bath. A peat bath cost 48 crowns in the regular bathroom. On the other hand, the cheapest was a bath in the early morning or in the afternoon: 18 CZK.
Was it a lot or a little? We know from statistics that the average wage in Czechoslovakia in 1930 was CZK 789 and, for example, a litre of milk cost CZK 1.95. One luxurious bath in the Imperial Spas was thus equivalent to 41 litres of milk. If converted to current prices (milk for about 25 CZK), a "today's" princely bath would cost us 1025 CZK and a regular peat bath in the Imperial Spas 615 CZK. This is not far from the prices paid in other Carlsbad spa houses for peat baths today.
Folded leaflet "The rate in the town spa of Karlovy Vary", ca. 1925, Collection of Stanislav Burachovich