Westend Park parks

Address

Dlouhá
Františkovy Lázně
351 01


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Description

After 1840, a new landscape park was created behind the building of the Luisa Spa. At the north-west edge of the park, the municipal fishpond was renovated into what is now Swan Pond with a small
island. In 1902, a wide promenade (“Westend Avenue”) was built
along Slatinný Creek, which connects the centre of town with the Amerika Forest Park. In 1904, a tennis court was built in the central part.

The monument of the Saxon Endowment (1837) in the former Loimann Park (today Westend Park) is one of the few Františkovy Lázně monuments built before the Beautifying Society was established. The so-called Saxon Foundation originated in Františkovy Lázně on 7 July 1820 at the behest of spa guests hailing from Saxony who were then celebrating the fifth anniversary of their king Friedrich August’s return from Prussian captivity. Their purpose was to cover spa stays for those Saxons who, although they could not afford it, needed to travel to Františkovy Lázně. The Beautifying Society completely renovated the monument in 1883. However, after 1945, the memorial plaque was destroyed and a bas relief portrait of Božena Němcová was put in its place.

From the moment it was established in 1881, the Františkovy Lázně Beautifying Society was supported not only by local residents, but also by rich benefactors among the spa guests. Among them was “Mrs Councillor” Therese Fleischer, hailing from Zwickau in Saxony, who donated 1,500 marks to the society in 1884 for the maintenance and expansion of the park. In her memory, a wooden Forest Chapel was built in that same year according to the designs of Gustav Wiedermann in Loimann Park, which was consecrated by the Františkovy Lázně priest, Karel Černík, on 3 July 1885.

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