There is a funny story re Aachen: Technically, it should be called Bad Aachen. "Bad" is the indicator of a town being a Bad (= spa). If you look at the German components of the site (Baden Baden, Bad Kissingen) you see this naming convention at work.

Eventually, Aachen figured that being first in an alphabetically sorted list of German cities would come in handy and dropped the prefix. To this day, though, town signs advertise that Aachen is a "Bad" and a "Kurort". While Bad translates nicely to spa, "Kurort" (Kur town) doesn't really have a proper English translation. The term "Kur" (cure, roughly treatment) is key to understanding the German and Czech spa sites.

A Kur is a preventive or rehabilitation treatment where you work on your health, by diet, via treatments and exercise. It always includes a social component. You are supposed to enjoy your time and relax: healthy mind equals healthy body. Nowadays, with German health insurance still footing the bill every few years, it has become a way to get a paid for vacation.

To achieve these goals a Bad and Kurort has several parts and most are found in a Bad like Aachen:

• The town has a spring: Aachen's spring was the reason Charlemagne settled in town.
• The town has a Grand Hotel: the Quellenhof (Quelle = Spring).
• The town has a Casino: see above.
• The town has a Kurpark to go on relaxing walks: Kurpark Aachen.
• The town has an arcade: The Elisenbrunnen (Brunnen = Fountain).
• The town has several rehabilitation hospitals and Kur hospitals.
• The town offers entertainment, e.g. concerts.
• You pay Kurtaxe (Kur tax), a daily fee to fund the above (the park, the concerts): 2.20EUR.

This pattern is something that developed over time in Germany, for which a huge amounts of towns exist to this day. It found it's highpoint in the 19th century: Karlsbad (Czech Karlovy Vary). Everything I wrote above for Aachen is true for Karlsbad and more so. It has several Grand Hotels. It is embedded in pristine nature allowing for lengthy walks. It has an arcade, it has a spring ...

For a time in the 19th century Karlsbad was world famous and a location for Europe's nobility and rich, the jetset of it's time. Two of the most prominent visitors are Goethe and Schiller, Germany's two classical authors, who are commemorated with memorials in the city.

In its heyday, Karlsbad obviously profited from the limited travel distances; Saint Tropez was a world away from Berlin. But the heyday also falls into the time when mass tourism and taking a vacation start to become a thing. Probably, it was more socially acceptable to say I go on a "Kur" for health reasons, than saying I am taking days off to get blasted at the beach. Effectively, the night out at the casino or dancing in the arcades may have been the same.

The scale of Karlsbad is hard to fathom nowadays. It is still a spa town and it is still popular with tourists. But Europe's jetset doesn't flock here anymore. Several hotels are empty or repurposed, e.g. as a museum. There is still an entertainment program, but the visitors tilt to the older generations and it's more of a tranquil atmosphere.

Apart from Karlsbad, I also visited Marienbad (Mariánské Lázně) and Bath. Marienbad is smaller, but follows the template for a Kurort lald out above. I know some who prefer Marienbad, but for me Karlsbad is the place to visit. Bath is Bath and even though it was here that the modern spa idea was invented, I think it should be a WHS of its own... Wait it is.

There is no doubt in my mind that Karlsbad could have been inscribed. This is the epitome of (central) European spa culture.

As you may have noticed in my previous reviews, I am not a fan of serial sites, so for me it should have been only Karlsbad. And even if you ascribe to serial sites, I feel the selection makes no sense:

1. I can see the point for the Bohemian spa triangle, but still feel Karlsbad on it's own would have been okay.
2. Karlsbad represents the best of what German 19th century spa culture is. I don't see that Baden Baden or - even less so - Bad Kissingen add much.
3. The German/Czech spa culture seems very distinct to me. From a high level it may make sense to combine them with Italian, French and Belgium spas, because those are all spas, but I don't think it makes sense. We also don't simply serialized Wooden Churches of Europe into one site.
4. Bath is inscribed as a UK spa already with it's history dating back to Roman times. It's really distinct and deservedly represented on the list on its own. If there had to be a UK bath, I would have chosen a new bath. I passed through Harrogate.

Getting There

For the Czech sites, all three can be reached by train from Prague. You can also connect between the cities by train. Crossing over to Bavaria is possible in Cheb/Eger.

In Marienbad, the train station is quite far off from the historic center. I had two hours and spent half of it walking from the train station to the city center. In Karlsbad, it's a bit closer, BUT there are two train stations. In my case, I had to do a sprint to get to the other train station. Between Marienbad and Karlsbad there are trains via Cheb with a transfer and direct trains through the hills. Travel time come out roughly the same.

While You Are There

You could obviously follow in Goethe's and Schiller's footsteps and rent an apartment in town and spend the summer there. The area is nice and you can hike in the nearby hills and forests. If you are in the area, visiting Zatec may come in handy as it's scheduled in 2022; but don't expect much.