City Market

Location: In Horova Street in the northern part of the centre of Karlovy Vary
Period of construction: Between 1912 and 1913
Architect: Franz Drobny
Official opening: 1913
Accessibility: Accessible during supermarket opening hours

How to get there

 Route 1:        You may reach the market hall if you walk from the Hot Spring in the spa centre along the Teplá River, the Thermal Hotel, and the Main Post Office. At the end of Nábřeží osvobození (Liberation Embankment), turn to Varšavská Street and walk through the city bus terminal all the way to the market hall. This route, which offers a pleasant walk through the spa centre, is approximately 1.7 kilometres long and it will take you about half an hour.

 Route 2:        If you decide for the second route, take Bus No. 2 from Divadelní náměstí (Theatre Square) in the spa centre to the "Tržnice" (Market) city bus terminal. The bus terminal is located directly in front of the market hall.

History of the structure

 In 1878, Karlovy Vary became one of the first towns and cities in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to open a municipal slaughterhouse on the bank of the Ohře River in Drahovice. Due to the rapid development of the spa town, the slaughterhouse grew substantially and eight buildings were added to it in 1893. Some of them served also as market halls supplying the local spa hotels.

In 1903, the Town Council decided to build a new modern market hall where meat and other groceries would be sold and where all the food products would be subjected to strict hygienic inspections. The modern, reinforced concrete market hall standing in the business district of Karlovy was built between 1912 and 1913 according to the design of the then Director of the Municipal Building Office and city architect, Franz Drobny. The construction work was carried out by the Rella & Neffe building company.

The interior of the market hall served not only as a market space with individual stands, but it also housed offices, laboratories, warehouses and cold storage rooms with freezers in the basement. Wooden market stands could also be found in front the market hall. In the early 1990s, the building listed among historical monuments has been converted into a modern self-service retail store. Today, a supermarket may be found in the building.