Family hotel with home spirit
If you are looking for accommodation in the city centre, there are many options available, among which Villa Lauretta stands out. We are located in the heart of Karlovy Vary and offer stylish and comfortable rooms that will surely meet all your needs.
In addition to quality accommodation, we also provide first-class services to ensure you enjoy your visit to the fullest. We wish you a pleasant stay in Karlovy Vary and look forward to your stay at our hotel.
Welcome to Karlovy Vary, a spa town with a rich history and a unique charm that has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2021.
VILLA SCHVALB - VILLA LAURETTA
History dating back to 1877
In 1877, plans were made for Alfred Schwalb (originally a factory owner, later a banker and a member of the German Progressive Party) to build a hotel. He is said to have inspired Lord Westbury to build the Imperial Hotel and later came up with the idea for a hotel complex on "Křížová Hora" hill, which was already connected to the colonnade by a cable car.
The villa was named after its owner – "Villa Schwalb". The construction was carried out between 1879-1881 by architect Josef Slowak (who also built the Anglican Church in Karlovy Vary between 1861-1863) based on his own design. He placed the new building in a triangularly expanding area which was already developed by the other buildings located here – Slowak's Tusculum or Moser´ s house.
On the site of the Karlovy Vary synagogue, built between 1875-1877 and destroyed by the Nazis in 1938, which was adjacent to Villa Lauretta, a monument to the victims of World War II persecution and the destruction of the synagogue was built in May 1956. The memorial had to be moved so that it would not be destroyed when the builders of the current Hotel Bristol started construction on the vacant site of the synagogue and the adjacent house in the 1980s.
Until 2001, the memorial was respectfully stored at the Jewish cemetery in Karlovy Vary and was then returned to Sadová Street in the presence of the Karlovy Vary rabbi and city representatives. This time it was placed in front of Villa Lauretta, which has belonged to the Karlovy Vary Jewish Community since the year 2000, through the settlement of Jewish property. Every year, memorial services are held at this site in memory of "Kristallnacht" (or the "Night of Broken Glass") and the victims of the Holocaust from the region.
The Karlovy Vary Jewish Community leases the property and carried out an expensive window replacement, partial replacement of furniture in 2021-2022 and a complete renovation of the ground floor, including the kitchen in 2023.
Source: Historical circumstances are taken from the collection of the Historical Seminar of Karel Nejdl (sborník Historického semináře Karla Nejdla) in Karlovy Vary.