Page:Guide through Carlsbad and its environs.djvu/11



The oldest document on record about Carlsbad is dated 1325, and of this we only know that it was entitled: “King John’s Privilege, or rather, Breve Testatum and Bill of Rights, about the ‘Thiergarten’, sub anno 1325.” This shows conclusively that Carlsbad first owed its prosperity mainly to King John. Previously, it was called “Wary,” a Czechian word, meaning warm-bath. The name of Carlsbad was given to it in honour of the Emperor Charles IV., who first brought it to a prominent position as a curative agent. Consequently, it is only a myth that attributes the discovery of the Carlsbad springs to the said Emperor while out stag-hunting.

The first written document about the great curative power of the mineral waters is a fine Latin Ode: In thermas Caroli IV., by Bohuslaw