The Heart Trails are ideal
for spa walks
The first two trails were created in 1966 to complement the spa treatment. Having fallen out of use in the late 1980s, they were renewed in 2002 and other walking routes were added. The starting point of all Heart Trails is at the František Spring where you can find a map of all the routes along with basic information.
The individual routes are differentiated by colours whereas the orange hearts designate the park route, while the red, green, yellow and blue hearts designate walking routes in the surroundings.
The destination of the Green Heart Trail is the Natalie Spring Pavilion. Although the pavilion was put into operation only in 1931, the spring had been known since 1880. It was captured and named after Natalie, Queen of Serbia, in 1912. The route is 4.5 km long.
From the František Spring, you will walk up Národní Avenue to the fountain in front of the Park Café, you will turn right and walk up Ruská Street. On the way, you will pass the Božena Němcová Theatre and the town park before reaching the railway viaduct. Behind it on the right, you will see a marker post with a green heart. From there, you will walk up a forest path that will take you to a stone altar near the Small Chateau. From there, you will follow the red-marked tourist path to a 1,200 m marker post. After crossing the railway tracks, you will walk down a meadow and a wider path to the Natalie Spring Pavilion. On your way back, you will walk down an asphalt road leading along the Ferrous Spring. After crossing a small bridge, you will pass the Peat Pulp Bath, the Salt and Meadow Spring Colonnade and continue through the park on the Isabelle Promenade to the Belvedere Spa Hotel and the Meteorological Column.
The pleasant 5.3 km long trail will take you through the nature reserve around Amerika Pond.
The route leads from the František Spring in the direction of the Tourist Information Centre where it takes the first turn to the left across Slatinný Creek to the football field.
It then continues right along a forest path and after 1,400 metres, it reaches a wide asphalt road. Here, you will turn left and walk through the forest park to the freely accessible Amerika mini zoo. You will continue to the right across the Amerika Pond dam.
To your left, you will see a small island with a bird sanctuary. After 500 metres, you will turn right and walk down an asphalt road to the Jadran Auto Camp. After another 400 metres, you will cross the main forest road and continue on a forest path. You will walk by the Glauber II Spring Arbour, cross Slatinný Creek and continue to Swan Pond and the Glauber I Spring Pavilion. A path leading around the tennis courts will take you to the town centre.
The orange park route is 2.2 km long and leads along Slatinný Creek to the Peat Pulp Bath built by spa physician Dr. Cartellieri in 1864 in the style of Romantic Historicism. He equipped the spa facility with modern technology for peat pulp and ferrous baths that were very popular then.
The route continues along the Salt and Meadow Spring Colonnade built in 1843 and it will take you to the Imperial Bath built in 1880 and the modern Aquaforum. You will pass J.W. Goethe's Memorial and the Imperial Spa Hotel before reaching the Božena Němcová Theatre.
From there, you will continue along the Stanislav Spring and the park pond. On your way back to the František Spring, you will pass the Park Café, the music pavilion and the riding statue of the founder of the town, Emperor Franz I.
The 3 km long Yellow Heart Trail will take you to the Salingburg Lookout Tower. The Pseudo-Gothic structure was built to resemble a medieval castle with a round castellated tower in 1906 by the town councillors along with the members of the local Beautification Association on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the first written record of mineral springs in the vicinity of the later spa.
The route will take you 300 metres along the František Promenade all the way to Slatinný Creek. At the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk in front of the bridge, you will turn left and continue along the creek. When you reach the Peat Pulp Bath, you will cross the creek over a small bridge and turn left to the Ferrous Spring, from there you will continue right and walk 550 metres up the moderately rising park path to the lookout tower. On your way back to town, you will walk by the Pyramida Hotel.
The longest of the routes is the 6.7 km long Blue Heart Trail, which will take you to the youngest volcano known as Komorní hůrka. The volcanic cone rising to an elevation of 503 m above sea level was put on the map by poet J. W. Goethe. As a natural science enthusiast, he was captivated by it during his first visit to Františkovy Lázně in 1808. In 1951, the site was declared a state nature reserve. The route to Komorní hůrka Hill leads along the František Promenade to Slatinný Creek. After crossing the bridge, you will continue right and up a moderately rising hill offering a nice view of the town. You will turn left at the wooden signpost and walk another 1,300 metres to the village of Komorní Dvůr. There, you will turn right and walk 100 metres along a path leading to the crater of the former volcano. Walk around the volcano from the left side by following the forest path that will take you to an adit entrance with a decorated portal and a memorial plaque of J.W. Goethe commemorating his research endeavours. You can return the same way or you can follow the blue-marked tourist path for about 1 km on the road to the municipality of Klest and from there, you will continue straight for about 2 km to a signpost that will direct you back to town.