Lázně Kynžvart (German Bad Königswart) is a town in the district of Cheb in the Karlovy Vary region. Since 1822, there is a climatic spa in the village. The dominant feature of the town is the spa district located on the western slope, which owes its origin to three gifts of nature: a beneficial climate, mineral springs and deposits of peat in the area. The village includes the local part of Lazy, about 5 km north of Kynžvart. Approximately 1,400 inhabitants live here.
10th century - 14th century
The first official
mention of Castel (Molobodný Castelum was a small fortification
built by a pagan Celtic tribe, approximately on the territory of
today's Lázně Kynžvart), dates back to 972, when Castelum was
donated by the German Emperor Ota I, together with the adjacent
territory, to Bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg. Another mention is from
August 4, 1287, when Kynžvart Castle (original name Kunigeswart) was
completed. The construction was started by Konrad of Hohenberg,
during the reign of the Czech King Wenceslas I, but it was not until
Konrád's son completed it. At that time, Přemysl Otakar II, called
the King of Iron and Gold, already ruled. For the small town, it was
a great advantage that caused a huge economic rise, due to the
settlement of various types of crafts, the castle had a larger
garrison and began to grow in population. The task of the castle was
to guard the trade route from Bečov, via Teplá, to Cheb. During this
period, castles were also built: Loket, Cheb, Bečov and Přimda. Over
time, the castle lost its significance and was abandoned. Around
1345, it was occupied by marauding knights who attacked caravans and
looted the surrounding area. That was the reason why Charles IV. in
1348, at the request of the councilors of Cheb, he had Kynžvart
Castle destroyed. Eight years later, in 1356, Charles IV. Kynžvart
is a city seal with a lion with a shield and three lilies. In 1398,
Heinrich Pflug received permission from Wenceslas IV to rebuild the
Kunigeswart fortified settlement, even against the objections of the
Chebans. The castle has since shone again in full splendor and
glory.
15th century - 16th century
In 1460, Hynek Krušin's
widow donated a picture of St. Margaret, who thus became the patron
saint of the local church. Four years later (1464), Jindřich of
Plavno grants the towns of Kynžvart and Žandov the right to mine ore
and the right to brew beer. In 1486, Ulrich von Zedwitz was
appointed governor of Kynžvart. The deed of appointment is still
preserved and stored in the municipal archives of the city of Cheb.
In 1500, the lords of Gutenštejn, together with their soldieress,
destroyed the church of St. Margarets and rob the city. Between 1500
and 1502, the church was repaired again. On March 31, 1534, the
territory was sold by Ferdinand I. The territory included the royal
property of Kynžvart together with two other villages. Johan z Pluhů
and his cousin Kašpar z Pluhů paid Ferdinand I. 18,460 gold coins.
At the same time, they were granted the right to use a pond with two
dams below Kynžvart. The 16th century was the peak of tin, silver
and gold mining for Kynžvart. The peasants left their fields and
tried to get rich by panning for gold in the surrounding streams.
Over time, it reached such a peak when it had to hit the lords and
ban this type of mining and panning. Unlike Jáchymov or Stříbro,
Kynžvart never became a mining town. In 1547, Kašpar of Pluhy, as
one of the main leaders of the estate uprising, was confiscated all
his property and was expelled from the Kingdom of Bohemia. The town
was occupied by fifty cuirassiers because the inhabitants of this
territory sided with their master. In October 1558, Ferdinand I
again sold the Kynžvart estate for 18,800 gold to Mr. Jindřich and
Zdeněk of Švanberk. Henry then pleaded for Emperor Maximilian II.
granted the town of Kynžvart the following rights: to hold a market
once a week on Thursdays and twice a year to hold a horse market.
The turn of the 16th century and the 17th century
The last
owners of the Kynžvart estate were the Zedwitz family. In the church
of St. Margaret's tombstone of Jan Šebestán Zedwitz is preserved, on
which the hour, day and year of the castle lord's death are carved
in Gothic script. In 1597, his son Kryštof Jindřich Zedwitz received
the manor for himself and his sons. At the turn of the 17th century,
Kynžvart Castle no longer met the new demands of life, and therefore
the Zedwitz family built a small Baroque chateau with farm buildings
under Kynžvart. The chateau included a smithy, a hunting lodge,
granaries, wheel mills, stables, a farm, a garden center and also a
brewery. After the Battle of White Mountain, specifically in 1622,
all property was confiscated and assigned to five brothers of the
Metternich Vinneburg family. A year later, the Metternich brothers
applied to buy Kynžvart with all the fields and forests. The request
was accepted in 1630. With the arrival of the Swedes at the end of
the Thirty Years' War, when Filip Emmerich Metternich Vinneburg was
already based in the chateau, the chateau was severely damaged and
many things were stolen. In the second half of the 17th century, all
the manor's property was gradually bought into the hands of F. E.
Metternich Vinneburg. The manor flourished and expanded. In 1664,
specifically on October 29, the wedding of a high-ranking and
respected burgher was to take place. During the preparations,
however, a fire broke out, which destroyed half of the square. In
the same year, as various armies passed, smallpox broke out, killing
70 people. In 1682, labor duties were eased. People still worked
hard, and when Metternich died of skeleton in 1698, no one regrets
it.
19th century
The year 1863 was a major milestone in the history of Kynžvart.
Richard Metternich had the first boarding house set up next to the
Viktorka spring. This also gives a basis and example for the
construction of a spa area. The town of Kynžvart, in honor of R.
Metternich, was renamed Richard in a well-known spring in the spa
area. Almost 200 years after the great fire of the city, two more
broke out in 1865 (one in August and the other in November of that
year). A total of 115 buildings burned down, including the town
hall, school, rectory and church. The total damage was then 311,553
gold. In 1870, on the feast of St. Margaret, a new church in
Kynžvart was consecrated by Father Josef Martin, the son of a miller
from the chateau. In the same year, it was founded by two local
students, a physical education association and a little later the
first fire brigade. In 1871, the railway between Cheb and Prague was
completed, called the "František Josef Railway". The local station
was called Sangaberg - Bad Königswart. With the establishment of
this railway, the timber trade flourished and an industrial
glassworks was established near the station, a little later a
sawmill and a bottling plant for mineral waters. In 1876, several
charities were founded and a male choir was founded, under the
direction of choirmaster Hans Frank, a composer and zither virtuoso.
He performed several times at the Imperial Court in Vienna. On July
1, 1877, the first hotels in the spa district were opened, opening
the gates of the Kynžvart Spa to the world. In the first season, the
Queen of Belgium, Prince Talleyrand de Sagan and Baron Nathaniel
Rotschild, stayed here. In 1878, a telegraph station was established
in Kynžvart. The reconstruction and rebuilding of the town of
Kynžvart to its current form begins. The work was carried out and
managed by the builder as well as the mayor Johan König. In 1891
there is a census of people and houses, and Kynžvart shows the
following numbers: 222 inhabited houses, 5 uninhabited houses, 16
houses after burnout. The city is inhabited by: 466 families and
2001 people live here. The castle has: 10 houses, 29 families with
127 people. At that time, the German language completely prevailed.
The year 1892 brings improvements for Kynžvart, in the form of the
completion of a new school on the square. In the same year, a gazebo
is built above the "Richard" spring and a new colonnade is opened.
After a long debate and planning, a new cemetery is consecrated.
20th century
In 1902, Kynžvart was annexed to the Mariánské
Lázně district, despite great protests from the population. From
1913 to 1918, the important German poet Adolf Karl Seidl lived in
Kynžvart. It fell at the end of the First World War. In the First
World War 1914-1918, men from Kynžvart fought on all fronts. 90 men
fell. Most at the beginning of the war on the Serbian front, as they
took part in maneuvers in Sarajevo, where the Austrian heir to the
throne, Ferdinand D'Este, and his wife Zofia were shot dead on June
26, 1914. On May 26, 1917, Prince Metternich established a
kindergarten for starving children in Kynžvart. Nuns from Notterdam
are invited to raise children. Despite the fact that the
Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed on October 28, 1918, German
citizens do not agree with the annexation of the Sudetenland to the
Czechoslovak Republic and even declared the Republic of
Deutsch-Böhmen in protest. On September 13, 1935, after 100 years, a
harvest festival is held, but it was used for fascist propaganda.
Dean Mayerl serves a field mass in the square. The district
governor's office forbids all local schools from participating in
this celebration. On May 3, 1936, there is a congress of officials
and civil servants in Kynžvart, which is also attended by the leader
of the Sudeten German Party, Konrad Henlein.