Karlsbad

KARLSBAD (Karlsbad), a small town and resort in Czechoslovakia, in the northern part of Bohemia. It is situated in a picturesque mountainous area on both banks of the Tepl River at its confluence with the Eger River, at an altitude of 374 meters above sea level. The climate is temperate and quite variable. Average monthly temperatures: January -4°, February -1.2°, March +1.3°, April +5°, May +12.6°, June +15°, July +16.3°, August +16°, September +12.2°, October +7.5°, November +2.3°, December +2.3°. The average annual temperature is +7.6°; the average barometric pressure is 727 mm. Therapeutic resources: 16 alkaline-Glauber's salt springs, which differ little from each other in composition, with temperatures ranging from +21° to +73.1°. The most important springs are: 1) Sprudel, which erupts above the surface of the basin as a fountain of hot water at 73° and yields 25,000 hectoliters of water per day with 14,000 kg of dissolved salt. Specific gravity is 1.00530. Free CO₂ is 0.1898. The total of solid components per 1 liter of water is 5.52 g: Na₂SO₄—2.41, K₂SO₄—0.19, Na₂CO₃—1.3, Li₂CO₃—0.02, CaCO₃—0.32, MgCO₃—0.16, SrCO₃—0.004, FeCO₃—0.003, NaCl—1.04, NaBO₂—0.004. 2) Schlossbrunnen. 3) Marktbrunnen. 4) Kaiser-Karl-Quelle. 5) Mühlbrunnen. 6) Neubrunnen. 7) Theresienbrunnen. 8) Elisabeth-Quelle. 9) Felsen-Quelle, with temperatures from +46.3° to +62.5°. The spring water is used internally and for baths. In Karlsbad, there are 5 large bath buildings, two hydropathic establishments, and physical therapy, mechanotherapy, X-ray, and other clinics. Peat mud from Franzensbad is used for mud therapy. Main indications: diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, chronic gastric catarrh, gastric ulcer, intestinal catarrh with constipation (cold springs) or with diarrhea (warm and hot springs), diseases of the liver and biliary tract, diseases of the urinary tract, gout, obesity, diabetes, rheumatism, etc. The water from the Karlsbad springs is exported in large quantities, as is the salt extracted from it—Sprudelsalz—both in crystalline form, containing 99% pure sodium sulfate, and in powder form, which closely resembles the solid residue of the mineral water and consists of sodium bicarbonate (36.91%), Glauber's salt (41.62%), common salt (18.19%), potassium sulfate (3.31%), lithium carbonate (0.2%), etc. Karlsbad is a well-appointed resort of world renown; every year up to 70,000 patients and as many tourists visit. The season lasts all year round; the best time is from April 15 to October 1.