Editing Karlovy Vary (section)

==History==
[[File:Carlsbad (Merian).jpg|thumb|Karlovy Vary, 1650; engraving by [[Matthäus Merian the Elder|Matthäus Merian]]]]
An ancient late [[Bronze Age]] fortified settlement was found in Drahovice. A [[Slavs|Slavic]] settlement on the site of Karlovy Vary is documented by findings in Tašovice and Sedlec. People lived in close proximity to the site as far back as the 13th century and they must have been aware of the curative effects of thermal springs.<ref name=history>{{cite web |title=Založení Karlových Varů a Karel IV.|url=https://mmkv.cz/sites/default/files/krl/rl08kvetenpriloha1.pdf|publisher=City of Karlovy Vary|language=cs|access-date=2021-06-01}}</ref>

From the end of the 12th century to the early 13th century, German settlers from nearby German-speaking regions came as settlers, craftsmen and miners to develop the region's economy. Eventually, Karlovy Vary/Karlsbad became a town with a German-speaking population.<ref>{{cite book|title=Deutsche und Tschechen: Geschichte, Kultur, Politik|author=Walter Koschmal |author2=Marek Nekula |author3=Joachim Rogall |publisher=C.H. Beck|year=2001|pages=338–39}}</ref>

In 1325, Obora, a village in today's city area, was mentioned. Karlovy Vary as a small spa settlement was founded most likely around 1349.<ref name=history/> According to legend, [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] organized an expedition into the forests surrounding modern-day Karlovy Vary during a stay in [[Loket]]. It is said that his party once discovered a hot spring by accident, and thanks to the water from the spring, Charles IV healed his injured leg.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historie a současnost Karlových Varů|url=http://www.karlovy-vary.cz/cz/o-karlovych-varech/historie-a-soucasnost|publisher=City of Karlovy Vary|language=cs|access-date=2021-06-01}}</ref> On the site of a spring, he established a spa mentioned as ''in dem warmen Bade bey dem Elbogen'' in German, or ''Horké Lázně u Lokte'' (''Hot Spas at the Loket'').<ref>{{cite book|title=Zeměpisná jména Československa: slovník vybraných zeměpisných jmen s výkladem jejich původu a historického vývoje|author=Ivan Lutterer, Milan Majtán, Rudolf Šrámek|year=1982|language=cs}}</ref> The location was subsequently named "Karlovy Vary" after the emperor. Charles IV granted the town privileges on 14 August 1370. Earlier settlements can also be found on the outskirts of today's city.<ref name=history/>

===19th and 20th centuries===
[[File:Marktplatz in Karlsbad in the 1850s.jpg|thumb|Karlovy Vary in 1850]]
An important political event took place in the city in 1819, with the issuing of the [[Carlsbad Decrees]] following a conference there. Initiated by the Austrian Minister of State [[Klemens von Metternich]], the decrees were intended to implement anti-liberal censorship within the [[German Confederation]].

Due to publications produced by physicians such as David Becher and [[Josef von Löschner]], the city developed into a spa resort in the 19th century and was visited by many members of European aristocracy as well as celebrities from many fields of endeavour. It became even more popular after railway lines were completed from [[Prague]] to [[Cheb]] in 1870.

The number of visitors rose from 134 families in the 1756 season to 26,000 guests annually at the end of the 19th century.{{cn|date=December 2023}} The greatest year for tourism was 1911, when the number of visitors reached 70,956.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zázemí Imperialu nabízelo všechen myslitelný luxus|url=https://karlovarsky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/zazemi-imperialu-nabizelo-vsechen-myslitelny-luxus-20120616.html|publisher=Deník.cz|language=cs|date=2012-06-16|access-date=2023-12-29}}</ref> World War I ended the development of tourism. Other disasters for tourism were the world economic crisis and the beginning of World War II.<ref name=lazenstvi>{{cite web |title=Lázeňství a prameny|url=https://www.karlovy-vary.cz/cz/o-karlovych-varech/lazenstvi-a-prameny|website=karlovy-vary.cz|language=cs|access-date=2024-02-29}}</ref>

At the end of World War I in 1918, the large [[Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)|German-speaking population]] of Bohemia was incorporated into the new state of [[Czechoslovakia]] in accordance with the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)]]. As a result, the German-speaking majority of Karlovy Vary protested. A demonstration on 4 March 1919 passed peacefully, but later that month, six demonstrators were killed by Czech troops after a demonstration became unruly.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zdeněk Vališ: 4. březen 1919 v Kadani|url=http://www.virtually.cz/art.php?art=9442|publisher=Virtually.cz|access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref>

According to the 1930 census, the city was home to 23,901 inhabitants – 20,856 were ethnic Germans, 1,446 were Czechoslovaks (Czechs or Slovaks), 243 were Jews, 19 were Hungarians and 12 were Poles.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fidler|first1=Jiří|last2=Sluka|first2=Václav|title=Encyklopedie branné moci Republiky Československé|publisher=Libra|language=cs|year=2006}}</ref>

In 1938, the city was annexed by [[Nazi Germany]] according to the terms of the [[Munich Agreement]] and administered as part of the [[Reichsgau Sudetenland]]. During [[World War II]], the Germans established a [[Gestapo]] prison here.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gestapogefängnis Karlsbad|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1986|website=bundesarchiv.de|language=de|access-date=2023-12-02}}</ref> After the war, in accordance with the [[Potsdam Agreement]] and [[Beneš decrees]], most German inhabitants were [[expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia|expelled]].

After the [[Velvet Revolution]] in 1989, spas and tourism began to develop rapidly again. The spa buildings were reconstructed and the spa became competitive again within Europe.<ref name=lazenstvi/> The spa became popular with Russian clientele, and brought many Russian investors and developers to the city and its surroundings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ruští podnikatelé mění tvář Varů. Staví luxusní byty, sruby i celé vesnice|url=https://www.idnes.cz/bydleni/stavba/rusti-podnikatele-meni-tvar-varu-stavi-luxusni-byty-sruby-i-cele-vesnice.A091115_125841_stavba_web|work=iDNES.cz|language=cs|date=2009-11-18|access-date=2024-02-29}}</ref>