Ensana Nové Lázně · since 1896
A glazed ceiling, twenty-one columns of dark-red marble and gilded lion heads above the water. The Roman Baths are not a stage set — you bathe in a monument that has served its purpose without interruption since 1896.
The Roman Baths belong to the five-star Nové Lázně hotel; they are not a public pay-per-entry pool. That is precisely why you will never meet a crowd there.
Guests of the Ensana Nové Lázně and Ensana Centrální Lázně hotels have access to the Roman Baths as part of their stay. By far the most comfortable and reliable way to enjoy them without worrying about capacity.
Guests of the Ensana Hvězda hotel have access to the pool in the Roman Baths with a stay of more than three nights.
Entry is possible for visitors not staying with us as well. It is sold exclusively on site, for two slots a day only — 11:00 and 14:00 — and subject to current occupancy.
Advance reservations by e-mail or telephone are not accepted. Availability depends on the current occupancy of the spa and its resident guests, so entry cannot be guaranteed in advance or promised for a specific day.
Sold on site
Daily at 11:00 and 14:00
The New Baths grew out of a plain fact: the town could no longer keep up with its own success. What we admire today as an architectural gem was, above all, an answer to a shortage of cabins.
1872
The railway opened Marienbad to Europe and visitor numbers surged. Existing capacities were no longer sufficient and a major reconstruction became necessary.
before 1890
The original building had 42 cabins, among them those for the so-called steel baths (Stahlbäder). That was the popular 19th-century term for a bath in the Ambrose Spring — the water was so rich in iron that it stained the tub rust-red and promised patients "steely health".
1892–1896
The impetus came from Abbot Alfred Clemens, who decided on the construction, secured the financing and gave the project a clear vision. Construction took four years and always took place in winter, outside the main season, so as not to disrupt spa operations. After Schaffer’s alterations the number of cabins doubled.
1 June 1896
The building was designed by Marienbad-born Josef Schaffer. He found his inspiration travelling through Italy — in Venice, Bologna and Florence; elements of the Italian Renaissance gave the building its timeless character. The abbot’s initials A. C. and A. T. (Abbas Teplensis) are carved into the pediment to this day.
The glazed ceiling floods the interior with soft daylight that reflects off the surfaces of the pools and underscores the monumentality of the hall. The Roman Baths rank among the most valuable and best-preserved examples of late-19th-century European spa architecture.
The New Baths soon became a destination for European aristocracy. The complex holds two private bathing cabins, still used today for special balneotherapy.
The Royal Cabin belonged to the British King Edward VII, who visited Marienbad nine times in total; his carbonic baths became a symbol of the prestige of the local treatments. The cabin has preserved its original fittings — a copper steam boiler, a historical heater, luxurious majolica tiles and paintings of birds on the walls. The doors to the loggia are adorned with original painted glass panels from the famous Tyrolean Geyling workshop, which shimmer in all colours in the sunlight. A stay in the cabin was meant to evoke a garden pavilion amidst nature.
The Imperial Cabin carries the name of Franz Joseph I.
A modern wellness area adjoins the historical hall.
The pools hold ordinary water, simply more gently chlorinated than a standard swimming pool. Mineral water is reserved for the tub baths — and the two combine beautifully: first the bath as a treatment, then rest beneath the marble vault.
Click to enlarge.
