Maria Spring (Mariin pramen)
Natural CO₂ gas (99.7%)
Not a spring in the classic sense: what rises from the depths here is not water but almost pure carbon dioxide (99.7%) — “Maria’s gas”, which only secondarily dissolves into the shallow groundwater. It was this gas vent that gave the town its name. Used in dry baths and gas injections, the gas boosts circulation and eases the heart and blood vessels; the treatment is exclusive to the spa houses.
At a glance
Where it rises
Parks & town
Type
CO₂ gas spring — not for drinking
Traditionally used for
The sulphurous smell of this gas vent once earned the place the name "Stinking Meadow", before it was renamed after an image of the Virgin Mary — and it was in use even before the spa town was founded. The gas is now captured and applied at the neighbouring Maria Spa in dry CO₂ baths and gas injections — the treatment that made Marienbad famous. The vent lies behind the Central Baths; you cannot bathe in it, of course.
How the spring gas is used
The gas of this spring is not drunk but applied in the spa houses: as a dry CO₂ bath in a sealed sack, or as a gas injection under the skin. Both treatments are prescribed and dosed by the spa physician. This page informs; it is no substitute for medical advice.
Learn more about CO₂ therapy