Františkovy Lázně

	Františkovy Lázně
	Town
Flag	Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Karlovy Vary
District	Cheb
Commune	Cheb
Elevation	442 m (1,450 ft)
Coordinates	Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Area	25.74 km2 (9.94 sq mi)
Population	5,428 (2005)
Density	211 / km2 (546 / sq mi)
First mentioned	15th century
Mayor	Ivo Mlátilík
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	351 01
	Location in the Czech Republic
	Location in Cheb District
	Wikimedia Commons: Františkovy Lázně
	Statistics: statnisprava.cz
	Website: www.mufrlazne.cz

Františkovy Lázně (Czech pronunciation: [ˈfrancɪʃkovɪ ˈlaːzɲɛ]; German: Franzensbad) is a town in Cheb District of Karlovy Vary Region in the western Bohemia (Czech Republic), near the town of Cheb with about 5,200 inhabitants.

Františkovy Lázně is world-renowned as a spa.

History

FRANZENSBAD was a town in the Bohemia province of Austria-Hungary until 1918. Until their expulsion in 1945 the majority of the population of the city was German speaking (see Sudetenland).

The spa

The salutary effects of the springs were known from the 15th century on. First, the water was used locally for salutary purposes, later sold all over Germany. In 1700, it reportedly sold more water than all other German spas combined. In the year 1793, the town was officially founded under the name Kaiser Franzensdorf (Emperor Francis II's village) and later renamed to Franzensbad, under which name it became a famous spa.

The local natural mineral water has a relatively high content of dissolved carbon dioxide.^{[citation needed]} The effects of the carbonic baths are shown in the better performance of the cardiovascular system, in the mild decrease of blood pressure in the pulse, in the lower occurrence of chronic inflammatory processes in the body, and also in terms of rheumatics, and in the improved blood circulation in tissues and the vegetative stabilisation.^{[citation needed]}

The local mud treatments represent a traditional curative method which has thermal, chemical and mechanical effects.^{[citation needed]} The mud treatment consists of a thick mushy combination of mud and mineral water which is heated up to a temperature which is significantly higher than body temperature.^{[citation needed]} The treatment has a positive effect on mobility of muscles and the pain in treated tissues.^{[citation needed]}

The local Spa corporation is the biggest spa corporation in the Czech Republic.^{[citation needed]}