MALVERN TWINNING

THIS year’s visit to Marianske Lazne, also known as Marienbad internationally, was the fourth visit by Malvern residents, led by Roger Sutton of Malvern Civic Society and High Street Malvern.

It was a fascinating experience, especially for those of us who had never been to the Czech Republic. The town is located in West Bohemia, one of the most attractive regions of the country. The visit was specifically to attend the opening of the spa season in what must be one of the most beautiful, serene towns I’ve stayed in, once visited several times by King Edward VII and other famous people such as the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef, Goethe the writer and Chopin the composer. Marianske Lazne, like a lot of spa towns, was a social, cultural and a political centre in Europe. It was founded at the beginning of the nineteenth century although the spa mineral water springs in and around the town were known long before that. The town is surrounded by deep forests and attracts hikers whilst winter sports like skiing also take place.

The architecture of the old part of the town where we stayed is mainly Victorian with a focal point of an elegant, long colonnade surrounded by magnificently maintained buildings and pavilions, painted mainly in pastel shades of lemon and white. Beautiful parks and trees are everywhere, with a “singing” fountain taking central position. A number of different mineral spa waters are available for tasting in a pavilion inside the colonnade and special ceramic drinking vessels with spouts can be bought for the purpose, just one example of the desirable souvenirs from the region. The area is known particularly for its beer, as well as its Becherovka liqueur, Bohemian crystal and arnica, the herbal ointment. The cost of living is low.

Amongst several celebrations in Marianske Lazne, we attended a church service given by the Abbot of Tepla monastery, a concert by the famous West Bohemian Symphony orchestra and also participated in the town ceremony led by the Abbot to bless the spa waters and joined by the Mayor who welcomed all to the town. Three of us gave short speeches in Russian, French, German and Czech, the speech in Czech by Mark Young being widely applauded by the locals as there are not many English tourists who speak Czech. We found that the dominant language from other tourists was German, since this town is located very close to the German border. As part of the trip, we each benefitted from several spa package treatments, and felt very relaxed after being pampered in our excellent hotel, the Olympia. On our final evening we hosted a meal for some of our Czech contacts at the local mini-brewery of Chodovar, where the restaurant is located in underground granite caves that are centuries old.

Marianske Lazne is one of several spa towns in the area. We explored the surrounding countryside, visiting another spa town, Frantiskovy, as well as the mansion that had been the home of Metternich, the Austrian Chancellor in Victorian times, and where his descendants still visit. The Czech countryside is green and fertile, with forests and lakes and a lot of rapeseed growing in unusually large, unfenced fields. We enjoyed a guided tour of Tepla Monastery, where there was a beautiful Baroque church and a very large and attractive library that contains over 100,000 books and manuscripts. Wide, modern motorways contrast with scenic roads leading to rural towns and villages. We were invited to Mark’s cottage to taste generous helpings of Czech beverages as well as one from Slovakia’s Tatra Mountains. No one will forget the Czech word for beer, pivo!

The idea of any twinning arrangement is to promote cultural and commercial interests between those participating. Usually there are factors in common that unite the towns, and in this case of course it is the spa town background. The Europeans take a “wellness” philosophy very seriously and so have come to view alternative therapies as an essential part of their wellbeing whereas it is not so developed in the UK any more. Marianske Lazne is twinned with several towns, including Marcoussis in France, Chianciano Terme in Italy and Bad Homburg in Germany. What can we do to further contribute to this special relationship? The town’s main business is hospitality and it has a hotel school, with which relations could be fostered as well as a potential for relations with other, light industries commercially. Links with schools and choirs could be developed and sporting, outdoor holidays might also be part of building up relations with each other.

From July 11-18 this year in Malvern’s Civic Week we will be hosting the children’s Canzona choir from Marianske Lazne, which plans to hold three concerts. We hope that this is just the beginning of a long and fruitful twinning arrangement with the Czechs, whom we found most hospitable throughout our trip.

DENISE PRESTON

Captions: As well as the report, I attach a couple of photos, one being of the group from Malvern, and the other being the colonnade which I refer to in the report.

On the group photo, which was taken near Metternich's house, the people are:

Front row (from the left as you look at it):

Catherine Campbell, Christine Sutton, Gina Butler, Joan Bailey, Maria Rumney, Denise Preston;

Back row:

Roger Sutton, Mark Young, Philip Rumney, plus Vladimir Kajlik, our resident Czech facilitator for the twinning visits.