Karlovice

The first mention of the village of Karlovice in the written records dates back to 1514, although we know that a different village stood in the same place before that. It was called Přáslavice and we first hear of it in 1352. St George’s Church, built in the mid-14th century, bears witness to the existence of this hamlet. It was extensively rebuilt in 1850.

For reasons unknown, Přáslavice ceased to exist during the 15th century, but a new village soon took its place, Karlovice. A record has been preserved from 1514 stating that Jan Svojanovskýof Boskovice was forced to sell the Hrubá Skála estate, which included Karlovice, to the Smiřický family, in whose hands it remained until 1620. After the Battle of White Mountain the Smiřický’s property was confiscated, including the villages of Karlovice, Radvánovice, Roudný and Svatoňovice (which are now part of the municipality), passing to Albrecht von Wallenstein. They remained in the hands of the Wallensteins until 1821, when the estate was bought by Jan Antonín Lexa of Aehrenthal. Alois, his younger son and successor, founded a spa there in 1842 and called it Sedmihorky after one of the local healing springs. The spa quickly became a leading and popular resort. In the 1970s the guests there, enchanted by the local landscape, dubbed this charming part of the countrythe Bohemian Paradise, and thisname quickly caught on.

The village has roughly 800 permanent residents. The centre of tourism is Autocamp Sedmihorky, which has long ranked as one of the top camps in the Czech Republic. The village is situated on the blue footpath to Kozákov, Sedmihorky and on to the rock town of Hrubá Skála, with plenty of places to visit. Sedmihorky spa is one of the starting points for trips throughout the Bohemian Paradise. The Sedmihorky wetlands are also situated within the municipality. This is an area of great ecological and landscape value covering 25 ha, and is also an important ornithological site.

KARLOVICE