Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: Marienbad

This was my train back to Prague, with #362085-2 on the point.

Here's the trains station at Marianske Lazne as seen from the street. Notice the steam-era signage, not yet updated to the modern Ceske Drahy blue.

Here's the Krizove Pramen itself, if I'm not mistaken. There were several names used for the springs accessible from in this building, all of them via stainless steel sinks a floor above the actual springs.

Here's another, weirder chandelier, that nevertheless could be just as old. This one is over the Krizovy Pramen, or Christ Spring, the spring which is arguably the centrepiece of Marianske Lazne.

The chandelier was also immaculate, although I'm assuming it was actually real, as it would only have had to be replaced had it been broken.

I'm not aware of whether these tables and chairs are barely-used antiques, or really authentic replicas, but in any case it is unusual to see a coffeehouse so faithfully decorated in the style of the 1910's, and in such good condition. This coffeehouse (unless I'm mistaken) was connected to the Hotel Sun.

Here's another shot of the colonnade without the fountain.

This colonnade shelters several springs, most notably Karolinin pramen (Caroline's Spring). Historically, spas generally centred around mineral water springs or beaches, and Marianske Lazne was of the formal variety. Today, the water is still drinkable, although it's a bit too strong for some people. Some of it is tasty, and some of it not. I'm not an expert on the health benefits, but historically they were taken quite seriously. This colonnade is usually called the 1912 Pavilion.

Here's my second shot of the Danubius.

This is the Danubius Health Spa and Resort.

This is the Hotel Bohemia, one of many hotels that I photographed, but one of only a few I decided to post online.

This building is one of the exceptions in Marianske Lazne, in that it looks impressive, but isn't actually a hotel. It's the post office, in fact.

When I figure saw an earwig in Europe a few years ago, walking on a sidewalk in Patras, Greece, I was very surprised. I always assumed that these were American animals, but in actuality you can find them in most of the world. I also found out to my surprise that they can fly, although they do so rarely. In spite of their reputation and their looks, though, the pincer on their rear is more for intimidation than anything else, as they aren't particularly aggressive. I'm not an expert, but this one looks male, as males have more curved pincers. Earwigs aren't culturally significant to the Czech Republic, although you do hear the Czech word for them, Skvor, here and there. There a pub in Cercany named U Skvoru, for example, and I'm pretty sure there's a band called Skvor as well (although a Yahoo search failed to turn up anything).

Here's a front view of the bus, revealing the Skoda logo above the bumper. The trolley pantograph is fully retracted here, and the bus is starting to pull away under diesel power.

This is, surprisingly enough, a hybrid bus, for lack of a better term. It can run off of catenary like a trolleybus, or on diesel like a conventional bus. It looks like a Karosa, but it's actually built by Skoda, a traditional trolleybus maker. Here you can see it retracting its trolley pantograph.

I wasn't clear to me whether this house is now being used as a hotel, offices, or both, but it is notable not only for its attractive architecture, but for a plaque (just visible on the lower right part of the building) commemorating the time Sigmund Freud spent here. Although people usually think of Freud as an Austrian or a German, he was actually a German-speaking Moravian, making him an Austrian by the standards of his day due to the Hapsburg Empire. Due to his Czech ties, Marianske Lazne isn't the only place in the Czech Republic where you can find references to him. Mozart is another common figure to see in Czech history and commemorated on buildings, as he was in the same situation, having been born in Salzburg, Austria in the time of the Hapsburgs, and having travelled throughout the empire while on tour, but that's a story for another place.

Most of the more interesting buildings (although not all) are hotels built in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when tourism to Marianske Lazne was at its peak, and the city was still called Marienbad. This is the Penzion Elektra.

Here's a much better view of Nadrazi Marianske Lazne, with its 19th-Century Austrian architecture. The station may have always been bigger than it needed to be, and today it's absolutely immense, not that that's a bad thing for the future, when oil prices will skyrocket.