How Františkovy Lázně Became the Leading Cardiological Spa of the Habsburg Monarchy after 1900

We invite you to another meeting in the COFFEE & SCIENCE series, this time on the topic "How Františkovy Lázně Became the Leading Cardiological Spa of the Habsburg Monarchy after 1900".

From the beginning of the 20th century, Františkovy Lázně was deliberately promoted as the "first and most famous peat spa in the world", whose natural resources were said to guarantee the best treatment of heart disease in the whole of Austria-Hungary. Behind this confident campaign stood the then mayor Gustav Wiedermann (1850–1914) and the prominent Prague internist prof. Rudolf Jaksch von Wartenhorst (1855–1947).

Historian at the Cheb Museum Mgr. Štěpán Karel Odstrčil will speak not only about the spa conditions in Františkovy Lázně at the turn of the century, but will also present the long-neglected figure of Rudolf Jaksch, who in his time was among the leading European experts in internal medicine.

Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2026, from 17:00
Venue: Cheb Museum, Valdštejn Picture Gallery
Speaker: Mgr. Štěpán Karel Odstrčil, historian at the Cheb Museum

Registration for the event: https://forms.office.com/e/2Yjq0baX3S

This event is organized as part of the project "Centre for Spa Research", reg. no.: CZ.10.01.01/00/22_001/0000261