Discover Franzensbad

Franzensbad, known in Czech as Františkovy Lázně, is one of the eleven spa towns in the serial UNESCO World Heritage Site “The Great Spa Towns of Europe.” When planning your trip, the town combines spa-town history and architecture with walking paths, theater and nature nearby. If you’re looking for a hotel in Franzensbad, consider which of these interests you’d like to shape your stay.

Spa-town history at the museum

The current exhibition at the Městské muzeum Františkovy Lázně covers the spa town’s history, from the discovery of Františkův pramen to the 20th century. It also explores local architecture and the development of balneological methods—that is, spa treatments. In this way, it focuses both on the history of the spa town and on the development of its buildings and spa treatments.

On display are historical views of the spa town, a wooden pipe carrying water from Františkův pramen dating from the mid-18th century, and the original “František” statue by Adolf Mayerl from 1923. The exhibition thus brings together views of the town, a historical object connected with the spring and a specific work of art. The dates and the artist attribution give each exhibit its own place in time.

Park paths and a named route

Today, the parks of Franzensbad cover more than 250 hectares. Dozens of kilometers of park paths run through them and are suitable for walks in the spa town. This gives you different ways to spend time outdoors, rather than limiting your stay to a single path.

One specifically named route is the orange Srdíčková Route: it is 2.2 kilometers long and passes the colonnades of the Solný spring and the luční spring. Its length and the landmarks named along the way give you useful points of reference when planning a walk. Local conditions can change; check them before setting out.

Soos as a nature trip nearby

The Soos National Nature Reserve is located near Franzensbad. A 1.2-kilometer educational trail there passes through peatlands and wetlands and over the bed of a former lake with mineral water. These landscapes are quite different from the park paths in the spa town: at Soos, wetlands and the former lakebed take center stage. Access conditions can also change; check the local situation before your visit.

The distances help put the walking options into perspective: the educational trail at Soos is 1.2 kilometers long, the Srdíčková Route is 2.2 kilometers long, and there are also dozens of kilometers of park paths. These figures describe different options—a trail in a nature reserve, a named route and paths in the parks.

Theater and getting there

The Divadlo Boženy Němcové offers an extensive program of plays, operettas and concerts. Guest companies and a local amateur theater group also perform there regularly. The program may change. If a particular performance is important to your trip, check the current program in advance.

Franzensbad can be reached by road, rail and air. You can choose how to get there to suit the focus of your stay—for example, a museum visit, a walk in the spa town or a visit to nearby Soos.

Discover more destinations: Žírovice, Liebenstein, Klinghart, Dreihacken, Marienbad, Schönbach Bei Asch, Roßbach, Eger.

Back to the main travel overview: Eger District.