12 - The Franieck Monument
The then owner of the spa, Baron Johann von Neuberg, had a monument dedicated to Karlovy Vary book printer and publisher Franz H. Franieck (1800–1859) built on a forest promenade above the colonnade of Otto’s Spring. The ceremonial unveiling of the monument took place in June 1859 and it was Johann von Neuberg himself who gave the accompanying speech.
Franz Franieck (14 July 1800 – 18 January 1859) was the son of Franz Franieck who published lists of spa guests, so-called Kurlists, in Karlovy Vary from 1795. He and his brother Karl expanded their father’s printing works and their production gained considerable renown. In Karlovy Vary, they owned a bookshop with both a reading room and a lending library. Franz Franieck even became sheriff of the Karlovy Vary sharpshooters and a town councillor. In the mid- 19th century, the Franiecks ranked among the most respected families in Karlovy Vary. Franz Franieck was an admirer and generous sponsor of the emerging Kyselka Spa. It was his favourite destination, which he would often visit and where he even took King Otto I of Greece.
The Franz Franieck Monument in Kyselka, consisting of a simple granite prism and built in memory of his services to the local spa, used to stand on a bricked circular terrace. Originally, it bore inscription plates in its niches. The surroundings of the monument were adapted, and two mighty neighbouring beech trees were named after the founders of the spa, Antonie and Wilhelm von Neuberg. New beeches, again bearing the names Antonie and Wilhelm, were planted in 2013.