A little history
In 1872 the Bělohrad estate was purchased from Count Aichelburg by the Prague industrialist Dormitzer. He had a wooden hut with three bathrooms built opposite the church called Na Sádkách on the left bank of the Javorka. To tell the truth, the baths were only open here in summer, purely for washing purposes. Nevertheless, the start of bathing every year became a major event.
The real merit for the establishment of Lázně Bělohrad a.s. in the year 1885 goes to the Prussian countess Anna of Asseburg, who performed the first successful experiments on the curative properties of the local peat here. This is where Ann’s Spa got its name. In 1888 the spa was officially recognised as a treatment centre and was allowed to call itself a sulphur peat spa.
Three years later – in 1891 – a large spa house was built on the land used today, in the Swiss style, with wings at both sides. Baths were drawn in these wings and this original arrangement of the hydrotherapy treatment centre has remained in place to the present day. The beginning of the 20th century saw another boom for Lázně Bělohrad a.s.
In 1901 a ferro-sulphur spring was successfully bored in the spa park in Bažantnice, and was named Anna-Mariánský. The composition of this water makes it ferric acidulous.
The fame and renown of the spa quickly spread. In 1905 the town was allowed to change its name to Lázně Bělohrad. In 1936 a new, luxurious hotel was completed, today the Hotel Grand, and MUDr. Janeček converted the former hotel U lázní to the Hydrotherapy and Examination Institute.
In the Vila Esplanade, originally part of the accommodation for spa guests, later part of the children’s sanatorium, a clinic for children and young people with illnesses of the locomotive system was established in 1963, with a separate rehabilitation department and primary-school classrooms.
Before 1989 the spa was part of the Poděbrady Spa. The restitution process saw part of the property returned to the family of MUDr. Janeček, while the rest was privatised. In 1992 a joint stock company was established, which returned to the original name of Lázně Bělohrad a.s. The main shareholder of this company is the firm PURO-KLIMA a.s. The face of Lázně Bělohrad a.s. has changed dramatically over recent years.
In 1991 the small rehabilitation pool was put into use. The newly built Anna Marie spa hotel was opened at the end of 1995. This hotel offers interestingly designed rooms, a restaurant, sauna, and a modern lecture hall, amongst other things.
In 1998 the construction work on the Hotel Grand was completed. This gave the spa a new, modern kitchen and dining-room, as well as 41 beds in comfortable rooms. The same year saw the completion of the therapeutic centre, linked with the Hotel Grand. Rooms for individual therapy and barrier-free access to all spa procedures and doctors are available to guests.
The following years saw the reconstruction of the Vila Karluška in the original style, which is now used for accommodation; they also brought the complete modernisation of the spa hotel Janeček, the opening of a new rehabilitation pool, as well as the Vila Stefanie for the most exacting clients. The demonstrably positive effects of the spa and its benefits to health have been praised by many generations of guests, including a number of famous figures. Here, away from the bustle of the city and surrounded by beautiful countryside, you can relax, get well and recover your strength, while seeing something of the lovely scenery nearby.