*A circuit to the Goethe viewpoint and tower, above Karlovy Vary – 6 km*

• Karlovy Vary is the largest spa town in the country and one of the eleven most famous European spas that were collectively added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021. It is a grand resort, in every sense, full of elegant Art Deco and Classicist architecture that has attracted film stars and royalty for centuries. In the 14th century, Bohemian king (and Holy Roman Emperor) Charles IV established Karlovy Vary, to enable his subjects to enjoy the many unique mineral springs that line the valley.
• One of the resort’s most notable and regular visitors was Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832), the world famous German writer and polymath. Over his life, Goethe visited Bohemia at least seventeen times In total he spent over three years exploring the Czech countryside, writing and collecting minerals for his scientific collection. During his Bohemian trips, Goethe was mostly based in Karlovy Vary, which he first visited in 1785 to manage a stomach ailment and gout. He considered the spa treatment a success.
• Goethe is honored with plaques, statues and memorials in many of the locations he visited over those three years, none more so that in Karlovy Vary. The stone lookout tower and viewpoint that bears his name today was completed in 1889 in the hills immediately to the east of the spa town. However, the tower was actually only named after Goethe some 70 years after its construction. The tower’s previous names offer a fascinating perspective of the Bohemian political and cultural landscape over this period.
• Apparently, the idea for the tower was inspired by the visit of Princess Stéphanie of Belgium to Karlovy Vary in the summer of 1887. The Princess was wife of the Crown Prince Rudolf, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Stéphanie was therefore Crown Princess of Bohemia during her Karlovy Vary visit.
• The neo Gothic tower was opened on 21 July 1889 and named ‘Kronprinzessin-Stephanie-Warte‘, after the Princess. By then, 24 year old Princess Stéphanie was a widow. Her husband, the only son of Franz Josef, had been found in an Austrian hunting lodge on 30 January 1889, mysteriously shot dead by the side of his 17 year old lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera. A major succession crisis for the Habsburg monarchy ensued, further weakening the fragile dynasty.
• The fascinating story of Princess Stéphanie, who had been infected with syphilis and rendered infertile by her husband Prince Rudolf, is worth a read. Despite being side-lined by her Habsburg relatives, the Princess managed to keep her Karlovy Vary tower until after World War I, when the new Czechoslovakia sought to distance itself from its former Hapsburg rulers. The tower was then safely renamed the Stifter-Warte, after the liberal Bohemian-Austrian poet, Adalbert Stifter, who was a frequent visitor to the region. and a cultural figure whose nature-centric works appear to have resonated with the region and the ‘new’ national identity.
• Stifter managed to keep hold of the tower for less than thirty years. Immediately after the World War II, the tower was again renamed, this time as Stalinova rozhledna (Stalin’s Tower). This might appear odd, as Karlovy Vary (like many west Bohemian towns) was actually liberated by US forces on 7 May 1945. However, the Americans swiftly left Czechoslovakia. By the end of May 1945, the whole of liberated Czechoslovakia was under the administration of the Red Army. The cult of Stalin as “Liberator of the Czechoslovak peoples” swept the country. Streets and monuments were expeditiously renamed.
• Stalin managed to hold sway over the Karlovy Vary lookout tower for just 12 years. The famed war time leader died in 1953. Three years later, new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev stunned the Communist world by denouncing his predecessor. The cult of Stalin was cautiously but irretrievably dismantled across the Soviet block. A new name was needed for the Karlovy Vary tower. Long time visitor, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, no longer viewed as a figure deeply associated with German nationalism, appeared a politically unchallengeable choice. Goethe became the tower’s new ‘owner’ in 1957.
• Goethe has kept hold of ‘his’ tower now for 70 years, but sadly it was not well maintained for much of this period. In 2019, the tower was reopened after extensive renovations. Remarkably, given the tower’s history and associations, the viewing platform can be accessed free of charge. Even better, for refreshment after climbing to the platform there is an excellent new café at the bottom of the tower, with a pleasant terrace area.
• It is possible to drive to within 100 meters of the tower (or catch the bus to Hůrky stop, which is a 1 km walk from the tower up the side road). However, a much more rewarding journey is to take one of the two possible routes up from Karlovy Vary center. These trails are some 3 km long, with 270m of climbing. The longer of the two routes (the YELLOW trail), passes some excellent viewpoints on the way and also has a geology nature trail, tying in to Goethe’s personal interest in minerals and the sciences generally. The (shorter) RED trail is useful for the return journey. Neither trail is particularly steep or difficult.
• Note: if it is a sunny day, this walk is best done in the morning to get the best views over town from the various viewpoints – which generally face west.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Starting in the center of town (Karlovy Vary – Vřídlo junction), join the YELLOW trail heading towards Goethova vyhlídka. This trail heads all the way to the tower
• From the tower, head back down the YELLOW trail for 800m to the Pod Goethovou rozhl. junction and join the RED trail to return to the center of town in 1.5 km