Jean de Carro Park

Location: In the vicinity of the Lützow's Villa on a hill above the spa centre of Karlovy Vary
Date of foundation: After 1850
Architect: unknown
Official opening: After 1850
Accessibility: Freely accessible

How to get there

Route 1: You may get to Jean de Carro Park from the Hot Spring in the spa centre if you walk past the Church of St. Mary Magdalene up Kolmá Street, then turn and climb up the steep stairs to a path that will take you all the way to the park. The short but steep walk with a big elevation gain is about 500 metres long and it will take you about ten minutes.

Route 2: An easier alternative is to travel by  Bus No. 2, Bus No. 7, Bus No. 8 or Bus No. 13 from the "Tržnice" (Market) city bus terminal to the "Na Vyhlídce" stop. From there, you need to walk down a few meters to the park.

History of the site

The municipal park known as Sady Jeana de Carro (Jean de Carro Park) was founded in the late 1850s near the Empire-style Lützow's Villa in a beautiful scenic location on the eastern slope of the valley above the spa centre of Karlovy Vary. On 13 September 1858, a column with the statue of Charles IV by Prague artist Josef Max was unveiled on the hill in a ceremony during the celebrations of the 500^th anniversary of the foundation of the town.

While visiting the park, you may see a sculpture of a sitting cat on a tall column at the top of the stone roundel near the lower edge of the garden of Lützow's Villa. The statue by Berlin sculptor August Kiss was placed here by Baron August Lützow in protest of the undignified location of the statue of Charles IV in the neighbouring park. Originally, the cat was facing the centre of the town; however, it was turned around to expose its buttocks to the former Town Hall. The baron intended to ironically point out that the work of the councillors had been good for nothing (Czech expression: "It's for a cat").

The grassy park, freely accessible all year long, offers its visitors a spectacular view of the  spa centre in the valley below. From Ondřejská Street, the lovely Jean de Carro Path will take you on a mysterious and one of a kind walk through forgotten corners of Karlovy Vary. The park bears the name of Jean de Carro, a famous Karlovy Vary spa physician, balneologist, friend of the Czech nation and promoter of Karlovy Vary.