The largest and most famous spa in the Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary has played an important part in the region's cultural and social life. Lying in a deep valley on the confluence of two rivers and surrounded by forests, Karlovy Vary - also known as Carlsbad - is an ideal location to regenerate one's tired body. According to legend, the town's springs were discovered by Emperor Charles IV nearly 650 years ago when he had a small hunting lodge built nearby. Soon afterwards, a spa was opened offering drinking and bathing cures using the local springs; people have flocked to Karlovy Vary for treatment of various ills and malaise ever since. Visitors to Karlovy Vary can sample the water and enjoy the perhaps even more curing effect of the town's beautiful colonnades and vistas.