Dr. Joseph Johann Nehr

Dr. Joseph Johann Nehr is a bronze bust honoring the physician regarded as the medical founder of Mariánské Lázně. It stands in the colonnaded gallery beside the Cross Spring (Křížový pramen) on today's Masarykova Street, right in the heart of the spa town's historic core.

Who was Johann Josef Nehr?

Johann Josef Nehr (1752–1820) served as monastery physician at Teplá and, at the same time, as personal doctor to the Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim. He was the first to systematically study the healing properties of the local mineral springs, and for forty years he pushed relentlessly to turn the marshy surroundings into a proper spa. That persistence is why local history calls him the "father" of Mariánské Lázně — not the founder of the town in an administrative sense, but the man who built its medical reputation.

What did he actually contribute to the spa's founding?

Nehr carried out the first therapeutic treatments using the local waters, documented their composition and effects, and pushed through the construction of the first solid stone building for patients, known as the "Golden Ball" (Zlatá koule). He also wrote the first monograph on the local springs, a work that later generations of spa physicians used as their reference point. His research and organizational efforts laid the scientific and practical groundwork that allowed Mariánské Lázně to grow into an internationally known resort.

When was the monument built, and who designed it?

The monument was commissioned on the initiative of physician Adalbert Dantzer. The bust itself was designed by Prague sculptor Emanuel Max and cast in bronze at the Jakob Daniel Burgschmidt foundry in Regensburg. The finished piece was shipped from Germany on 7 September 1853, but it was not actually installed in the colonnade by the Cross Spring until autumn 1857. The bust rests on a marble pedestal bearing an inscription plaque and a medical symbol.

Has the monument survived intact over the years?

The bronze bust survived both the Second World War and the postwar purges that removed German-language inscriptions and symbols across Czechoslovakia. The original German-language inscription was removed after 1945 and altered more than once, but the sculpture itself — despite being at real risk of destruction — has survived to this day and still stands in the colonnade beside one of the resort's most important springs.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Nehr bust located? In the colonnaded gallery by the Cross Spring, on Masarykova Street in the center of Mariánské Lázně — easy to find while walking the spa's main promenade.

Why is Nehr called the "father" of Mariánské Lázně? Because he was the first to scientifically study the healing properties of the local springs, spent forty years pushing for the spa's development, and secured construction of the first bathhouse, laying the foundation for the future resort.

Who created the monument? The bust was designed by sculptor Emanuel Max of Prague and cast in bronze at a foundry in Regensburg, commissioned by physician Adalbert Dantzer, who initiated the project.

When was the monument unveiled? The finished bust was shipped from Germany in 1853, but it was ultimately installed in the colonnade by the Cross Spring only in autumn 1857.

Is the monument still original? The sculpture itself is an authentic 19th-century piece, though its inscription was altered after 1945 when the original German-language text was removed.