One of the town's oldest springs
The second instalment of A Doctor's Word is about a spring you can hardly miss on a walk through the spa park. The Ambrose Spring rises in the park in front of the Centrální Lázně hotel, a few steps from the Small Colonnade. In the hotel newspaper Marienbad News, MUDr. Pavel Knára, emeritus chief physician of the Nové Lázně spa house, counts it among the oldest springs in town. We retell his words here and add facts from the book on Marienbad's mineral springs that he co-wrote.
History bears him out. As early as 1760, A. J. Scrinci described the spring as a mineral water for everyday drinking, and six years later J. J. Zauschner recorded it under its present name — in honour of Jeroným Ambrož (Ambrose), abbot of Teplá.
From timber casing to brick cones
The Ambrose Spring shows how the technique of capturing springs changed. In 1807 it was given the timber casing usual at the time, which lasted a century. In 1826 a neo-Gothic pavilion replaced the simple wooden shelter. In 1911 the spring was captured in stoneware pipes — and when its iron content, the very reason people drank it, fell sharply in 1925, a complete reconstruction followed in 1926. Seven metres below ground, three groups of outlets were uncovered; a conical capture of hard-fired brick took them in, and three pipes led them to overflow vases. According to the book, this arrangement remains unchanged today. How the other springs were captured is told in How the springs were captured.
Three outlets, one composition
There are three Ambrose springs, numbered I, II and III. As MUDr. Knára stresses, their chemical composition is practically identical. Technically they are simple ferruginous acidulous waters — cold, hypotonic, weakly to moderately mineralised.
| Parameter | Ambrose springs I–III |
|---|---|
| Iron (Fe) | 15.6 mg/l |
| Calcium (Ca) | 57.7 mg/l |
| Magnesium (Mg) | 24 mg/l |
| Sodium (Na) | 55.3 mg/l |
| Total mineralisation | 469–564 mg/l |
| Free carbon dioxide | 2,580 mg/kg |
Complex analysis from 2013 and control analysis from 2017, as given in the book "Minerální prameny v Mariánských Lázních k pitné léčbě" (Bartoš, Nečasová, Knára, 2018).
Compared with powerful springs such as the Cross Spring, this is a gentle water: it is among the Marienbad springs lowest in both sodium and calcium. The book's authors therefore also list it among the springs you can simply drink to refresh yourself.
Iron that is drunk on the spot
Because of its iron content, the Ambrose Spring used to be prescribed for iron-deficiency anaemia. MUDr. Knára notes with good humour that there are excellent medicines for anaemia today, so the Ambrose Spring is no longer so badly needed for that purpose.
The iron also explains a practical tip from the book: inside the spring the iron is ferrous, and as soon as the water meets the air it quickly oxidises to ferric iron. In a bottle left standing for a while, a rusty haze appears and eventually a sediment. That is why the Ambrose Spring — like Marienbad's other iron-bearing springs — is best drunk fresh, right at the fountain. MUDr. Knára says more about this in the third instalment of the series, on the Forest Spring.
What the Ambrose Spring is traditionally used for today
According to MUDr. Knára and Ensana's 2025 medical catalogue, the Ambrose Spring is prescribed today in the drinking cure for one type of kidney stone — calcium phosphate stones. This is traditional use within a drinking cure prescribed by a physician; whether and how it suits you is judged by the physician on the basis of your urine tests and the type of stone.
Kidney stones without urinary congestion are among the indications for spa treatment in Marienbad. The full overview is on the Indications and contraindications page, and the wider context in our article on kidney and urinary tract treatment.
Which spring you drink, how much and at what time of day is set by the spa physician at your initial examination. Decisions about the drinking cure and its dosage are theirs. Our drinking cure guide describes how a cure usually runs.
The legend of the spring of love
And now for the reason even guests who have not come for a drinking cure stop at the Ambrose Spring. MUDr. Knára tells the legend attached to it.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent three summers in a row in Marienbad, from 1821 to 1823, when he was already past seventy. Here he met his last great love, the young Ulrike von Levetzow — she was seventeen when they first met and nineteen in the last of those summers. Tradition has it that Goethe regularly drank large amounts of the Ambrose Spring at the time and was full of vigour afterwards. Hence the nickname spring of love — and the custom that anyone who wants to fall in love in Marienbad should take a drink at the Ambrose Spring. MUDr. Knára adds with a smile that he now expects quite a crowd at the spring.
Another story explains the nickname by the spring's supposed effects on beauty and freshness. Both versions belong to spa legend, not to medical advice. How the story of Goethe and Ulrike ended, and how to follow in his footsteps today, is told in Goethe's footsteps.
Where to find the Ambrose Spring
The three outlets are in the spa park in front of the Centrální Lázně hotel, just below the Colonnade; from the Small Colonnade by the Caroline Spring it is only a few steps across the path. The location and a description of the spring are in the springs overview. Bring your spa cup — and while you are there, the legend can do no harm.
More from the A Doctor's Word series
- Rudolph Spring — the calcium and magnesium water
- Ambrose Spring — iron-rich water and the Goethe legend (this article)
- Forest Spring — why mineral water is best drunk at the spring
All the springs, and when the drinking cure is used in Marienbad, are covered on our Mineral springs page.
We paraphrase MUDr. Pavel Knára's words from his column in the hotel newspaper Marienbad News 3/2024, published by the operator of the Ensana spa hotels (internal material). This article is not a substitute for medical advice; whether a drinking cure becomes part of your treatment plan, and its dosage, is decided by the spa physician.
