Photo by Gaj777, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇨🇿 Czechia · Karviná-Darkov, Moravian-Silesian Region (Moravia)
Photo by Gaj777, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇨🇿 Czechia · Karviná-Darkov, Moravian-Silesian Region (Moravia)
♨ Temperature
—
⛰ Altitude
—
⚗ pH
—
💧 TDS
—
🌊 Flow rate
—
📅 Established
Brine struck accidentally in 1862 while drilling for coal; spa use began 1865, formal operations from 1867; designated an official spa town in June 2025
✓ Verified on 2026-07-31
In 1862, Baron Jiří IV. Larisch-Mönnich's coal-drilling crew struck what contemporary accounts described as a powerful geyser of salt water at Darkov, near Karviná; a chemical analysis by the Viennese professor Dr. Redtenbacher in 1867 found the brine carried double the iodine concentration of the celebrated springs at Hallein. Dr. Anton Fiedler began using the heated water for medical bathing in 1865, and formal spa operations followed government approval in 1866-67, starting with a Swiss-style timber and glass structure known as the Greenhouse. The tertiary iodine-bromine brine still treats musculoskeletal, neurological, and post-surgical conditions today, and Darkov was formally recognised as a spa town (lázeňské místo) in June 2025.
Discovered by accident during coal-prospecting in 1862, the brine was found in 1867 to carry twice the iodine concentration of Austria's renowned Hallein springs. Spa operations began in 1865-67 with a Swiss-style timber structure known as the Greenhouse; Darkov gained official spa-town status in June 2025.
Websitewww.laznedarkov.cz/
AddressLázeňská 48/41, Karviná-Darkov, Czech Republic