Karlovy Vary

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Statistics
Area:	59 km²
Population:	52,022 (2003)
Map

Karlovy Vary listen (help·info) (German: Karlsbad), also known in English as Carlsbad, is a spa city situated in the western part of the Czech Republic on the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá rivers. Karlovy Vary is named after Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in the 1370s. It is historically famous for its hot springs (13 main springs, about 300 smaller springs, and the warm-water Teplá River).

Until their expulsion in 1945 the majority of the population of the city spoke German (see Sudetenland).

Karlovy Vary is a popular tourist destination, especially for international celebrities visiting for spa treatment. The city is also known for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and popular Czech liqueur Karlovarská Becherovka. The glass manufacturer Moser Glass is located in Karlovy Vary. The city has been used as the location for a number of film-shoots, including the 2006 films Last Holiday and box-office hit Casino Royale, both of which used the city's Grandhotel Pupp in different guises.

Carlsbad, New Mexico and Carlsbad, California, in the United States, and nearby Carlsbad Caverns National Park take their names from Karlovy Vary.

[edit] Notable people associated with Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary

A Birdeye View of Karlovy Vary

František Běhounek, scientist and novelist
Karl Hermann Frank, Nazi official
Walter Kaufman, composer
Princess Michael of Kent (born Marie-Christine von Reibnitz), a member of the British Royal Family, was born in German Karlsbad in January 1945, prior to the expulsion of the German population
August Labitzky, composer
Johann Josef Loschmidt, scientist
August Pfizmaier, Orientalist
Walter Serner, dadaist
Hana Soukupová, supermodel
Karin Stoiber, First Lady of Bavaria
Tomas Vokoun, hockey player
Carl Weidl-Raymon, early proponent of European unification