Location: In Jean de Carro's Park near Na Vyhlídce Street above the centre of Karlovy Vary
Year of creation: 1858
Author: Josef Max
Date of unveiling: 13 September 1858
Accessibility: Freely accessible
How to get there
Route 1: You may reach the memorial column if you walk from the Hot Spring in the city centre along the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene to Kolmá Street where you will continue up the steep stairs to a foot path that leads to Jean de Carro's Park. The short, yet challenging route due to the steep decline is approximately 500 metres long and it will take you about 10 minutes.
Route 2: An easier alternative is to travel by Bus No. 7, Bus No. 8 or Bus No. 13 from the "Tržnice" (Market) stop to the "Na Vyhlídce" (At the Lookout) stop. From the bus stop, walk down into the park and you will reach the column after a few metres.
History of the monument
The column with the statue of the founder of Karlovy Vary, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV, was erected upon the order of the town of Karlovy Vary on a hill near Baron Lützow's Villa in Jean de Carro's Park above the spa town in 1858. The monument is the work of renowned Prague sculptor Josef Max who is also the author of a group of statues on Charles Bridge in Prague.
The unveiling ceremony of the jubilee column took place on 13 September 1858 at theoccasion of the 500th anniversary of the foundation of Karlovy Vary. The cast-iron statue is placed at the top of a tall cannelated column. The column base bears the inscription: "To the founder from his grateful town". You may also admire the statue of a cat on a tall column with a richly decorated roundel at the edge of the nearby garden of Baron Lützow.
Location
Column of Charles IV
