West Bohemia is a region in the Czech Republic.

Cities

Karlovy Vary

• 1 Cheb (Eger). A historical city in West Bohemia. During the Thirty Years War, Albrecht von Wallenstein was assassinated here.  
• 2 Františkovy Lázně (Franzensbad). A historic spa town, one of the "corners" of the West Bohemian Spa Triangle  
• 3 Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad). A historic spa resort, one of the "corners" of the West Bohemian Spa Triangle  
• 4 Lázně Kynžvart (Bad Königswart). A historic spa town  
• 5 Loket. The town centre is a national monument  
• 6 Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad). A historic spa resort, one of the "corners" of the West Bohemian Spa Triangle.  
• 7 Plzeň (Pilsen). An industrial city, birthplace of "Pilsner" beer  

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 Epoque" 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 the hit of World War II, during which the area was annexed by Nazi Germany under the infamous 1938 Munich Agreement and later even bombarded by American air raids.

See

• 1 St. Bartholomew's Cathedral. The dominant feature of Pilsen. Church tower admission: 50 Kč for adults. 
• 2 The Singing Fountain. The dominant feature of Mariánské Lázně. 
• 3 Rolava tin mine ruins. A tin mine/processing site used during 2.WW, 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 60+ years ago. (updated May 2018)

Do

• 1 Český les (Upper Palatine Forest). A mountain range stretching along the German border.  
• 2 Slavkovský les (Slavkov Forest). A landscape protected area located between 3 spa cities: Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně.  

Also, there are 14 golf courses in West Bohemia.

Stay safe

West Bohemia is a very safe region.

Go next

• Central Bohemia
• North Bohemia
• South Bohemia