Vol 28, (1988)

Details

Category: Vol 28, (1988)

• Karlovy Vary Massif
• granit
• springs

Authors: Břetislav Vylita

 Full version (22,919 kB)

 Abstract: Karlovy Vary is the largest and most famous spa town in Czechoslovakia. The treatment uses thermal water with a temperature of up to 73 °C, which has a mineralization of 6.4 g.1^-1 of the type Na-HC0₃-SO₄-Cl. Thermal springs spring up along the intersection of fracture zones in the granite. The main spring (Vřídlo) has a yield of around 30 l.s^-1, the remaining, so-called "small" springs spring from the daylight along the Karlovy Vary thermal zone and have a low level of filling and a lower temperature. Originally, the hot water came out at the lowest point in the valley, in the river bed. After the establishment of the spa (in 1358 by the Emperor and King Charles IV), it was necessary to ensure the supply of thermal water to the swimming pool. As early as 1500, the spring was intercepted by shallow boreholes on the right bank of the river, but since then it has been necessary to raise the overflow level and seal the river bed again and again to prevent wild escapes of thermal water ("bubbling eruptions"). Later, these eruptions spread to the adjacent basement rooms and their debris rose and the springs dropped below 20 l.s^-1, which barely covered the operational needs of the spa.