The traditional Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary is located at the confluence of the Teplá and Cheb rivers.

Even the Bohemian and later Roman-German emperors took a cure in the town with its numerous springs in the Middle Ages. These were first scientifically described in a written treatise in 1522.

After the destruction of the Thirty Years' War, the town was slow to recover. It was not until the Russian Tsar Peter the Great visited in 1711 and 1712 that the spa town experienced a new upswing.

The First World War and the ensuing political instability after the collapse of the Danube Monarchy made the spa business in Karlovy Vary more difficult.

After the incorporation into the German Reich in 1938 and the beginning of the Second World War, spa operations came to a complete standstill. After the nationalization of the spa facilities by the communist regime from 1946 to 1989, only a select elite benefited from the advantages of the Carlsbad springs.

In 1953, Wiesbaden declared its solidarity with the German-Bohemian population of Karlovy Vary, who had been expelled after the Second World War as a result of the Beneš Decrees.

To mark the 50th anniversary of this sponsorship, an entry was made in the city's Golden Book on September 28, 2003.

With the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the spa business was once again geared towards an international audience. Today, Karlovy Vary has regained its reputation as one of the most famous spas in the world.