West Bohemia
Czech Republic · Other
About West Bohemia
West Bohemia is a region in the Czech Republic.
West Bohemia travel guide
Understand
This region along the Franconian, Saxon and Bavarian borders with the Czech Republic has had a lot of German influence throughout the existence of Austria-Hungary and before. After World War II most of the ethnically German inhabitants were expelled and the "Iron Curtain" ruptured many cross border links even as Czechoslovakia and the GDR ("East Germany") nominally called each other "socialist brother countries". With the end of the Cold War and the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union in 2004, this region became a lot more accessible from the west and tourism has benefited from it. Among the most notable towns are those that form the West Bohemian Spa Triangle, which was a retreat of the rich and the famous, throughout the 19th century and into the Belle Époque, who would consume and bathe in the mineral water emerging from countless springs in the area. After World War I, the aristocrats lost their power in most of Europe, and the new state of Czechoslovakia tried in vain to avert the decline of tourism in the Spa triangle. Even worse was World War II, when the area was annexed by Nazi Germany, under the infamous 1938 Munich Agreement, and later bombed by the Americans.
See
St. Bartholomew's Cathedral The dominant feature of Pilsen, this Gothic cathedral was established in the late 13th century. Its tower is the tallest in the Czech Republic. The Singing Fountain The dominant feature of Mariánské Lázně, is a spectacular fountain with a recorded music show to accompany it. 1 Rolava tin mine ruins. A tin mine and processing site used during World War II, where mostly political prisoners worked. The buildings hidden in the woods are generally accessible (on your own risk), they are mostly in the state in which they were left in the 1950s. (updated May 2018) The Reliquary of St. Maurus, exhibited in the Bečov Castle south of Loket, is considered to be the second most expensive historical artifact in the Czech territory. The golden chasse with wooden core and remnants of the saint was made in 13th century.
Do
There are 14 golf courses in West Bohemia.
Go next
Central Bohemia North Bohemia South Bohemia
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.