History
The town was first mentioned in the land and duty register of the Frýdlant domain in 1381, which is maintained in the state archive in Děčín.
The town's original name was Lybenwerde. The village gained recognition by the end of the 14th century, as reports about the healing effects of the local spring began to spread. It was pilgrims who spoke about it, refreshing themselves with the 'God’s water' along their journey from Lužice to the Marian pilgrimage Church of the Visitation in neighboring Hejnice. During that time, Libverda could also boast of hosting famous guests.
Among these notable guests were the Saxon Elector August I and the Bohemian humanist Bohuslav Hasištejnský of Lobkovice.
Since the late 16th century, the mineral water here has been helping patients from all corners of Europe.
Philosophy
We treat, we relax, and we spend our free time actively. We do all this with respect for the local spa tradition and history, in a picturesque hollow offering spectacular views of the Jizera Mountain peaks.
Treat, regenerate, relax and do something beneficial for body and soul - that is the Roman spa philosophy proven over the ages. These were the guiding principles of the spa’s founder, Filip Clam-Gallas, with the Monastery providing the spiritual dimension. Today's spa managers also connect with these values and strive to develop services that honor modern spa industry trends and promote spiritual regeneration, while meeting the demands for quality lodging, gastronomy, and active ways to spend leisure time.
Origin and development of the spa
The origin of the true spa is associated with the noble Clam-Gallas family. In 1636, they gained the Frýdlant domain from Emperor Ferdinand II as a reward for their loyalty to him in the march against Albrecht von Wallenstein.
Filip Josef Gallas died in 1757 leaving behind no direct descendants. His wife was named as the successor, provided that after her death in 1759, the property, coat of arms, and name would pass to Kristián Filip, the son of her sister Aloisia of Clam. A condition of this arrangement was that Kristián Filip and his descendants were required to attach the name Gallas to their existing surname. In 1768, Kristián Filip was confirmed by the empress in his ownership of the Gallas estates and coat of arms. This is how the Clam-Gallas family branch originated.
It was Kristián Filip himself who is credited with the first spa construction, which emerged around 1760. Other spa buildings mentioned in historical records were built over around two decades later. In 1779, the famous dining hall, Trakteurhaus, was established with 28 rooms and a large dining room that transformed into a dance hall in the evenings. A mineral spring building, 'Sauer Brunn Gebäude,' was added in 1783. Between 1789 and 1795, the buildings 'Zum Schwarze Adler,' 'Turkenkopf,' and 'Schlosshotel' were constructed. Separate spa facilities were also built for gentlemen and ladies.
At the end of the 18th century, Kristián Filip had the spa park designed in the English style. Still standing at the edge of the park is the old bent lime tree with a crucifix.
Around 1800, Kristián Filip built a promenade and a small Empire-style chateau with the Clam-Gallas coat of arms, where he resided during the summer months. He also commissioned the construction of the theater, chateau stables, coach house, and a pavilion above the Marian spring, where the gilded head of a Turk was displayed—hence its German name, Turkenkopf. Kristián Filip passed away in 1805, and his son, Kristián Kryštof, continued to develop the spa. Thanks to the support of the Clam-Gallas family, an independent school was established in 1819.
In 1836, the provincial committee granted Libverda the status of a healing spa. That same year, a two-wing colonnade was built, featuring Dorian columns on prismatic plinths adorned with gloriettes. In 1868, the New Spa House (formerly Helm) was opened. However, in 1911, it caught fire and was demolished. A more modern building was constructed in its place, named "Ostrava", which later became today's Clam-Gallas Palace during the socialist spa era.
By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the spa had become so popular that more and more notable figures began visiting. Austrian Emperor Josef II himself visited in 1779, followed by Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia in 1807. Other distinguished guests included composer Carl Maria von Weber, Czech scientist Josef Jungmann, and many others.
In 1898, a permanent post office was established in the municipality. In 1900, the railway line was opened from Raspenava to Bílý Potok, which improved the availability of the spa. The early 20th century saw the building of a tennis court, playground and a pond for swimming.
Libverda was known for producing the healing water "libverdská kyselka". In 1910, its sales reached 200,000 bottles. Since the 1930s, the mineral water has not been bottled; instead, it is extracted from a depth of about 100 meters into storage tanks and, after heating, is mainly used for baths.
In 1906, the new name of the town was approved: Lázně Libverda [Spa Libverda].
Throughout the 20th century, Lázně Libverda was one of the quintessential spas of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, partly due to the town's elevation to the status of a state spa in 1936.
The key accommodation facility, Nový Dům, was built in 1986 and underwent complete modernization in 2000. Following that, the guest house Frýdlant, the restaurant Valdštejn, and the guest house Labská—formerly a recreational building of ČS Plavba Labsko-Oderské—were also reconstructed.
In November 2006, the next phase of the EU project "Frýdlant Region - Tourist Destination" was completed, featuring the local panorama circuit known as "Panoramas over Libverda". It includes five attractive lookout points equipped with wooden stands and information boards that share the stories of local legends with visitors.
Spa Resort Libverda is gradually restoring itself and modernizing its spa buildings, outdoor spaces and facilities.
Among the many important spa guests were writer Franz Kafka, German naturalist and co-founder of geography as an imperial science Alexander von Humboldt, Czech historian and professor at Charles University Josef Vítězslav Šimák, Jan Masaryk—the son of the father of the Czechoslovak nation and later foreign affairs minister—and, last but not least, world-renowned symphony conductor Václav Talich.
Legend about a cockerel
A local legend about a fat cockerel, or why Libverda has a cockerel in its coat of arms...
If you visit Libverda, the first thing you should do is look at the roof of the Eduard spring. There, you will see a rather charming cockerel that, at the time of my telling, was quite green, much like the roof of the building on which it proudly stands and, of course, like the leaves of the trees in summer, allowing it to blend seamlessly into the greenery. Who ever saw a green cockerel? However, in the times of the Auspergs, the cockerel was faithfully dyed so that it was visible in winter and properly in summer - as it deserves to be. The cockerel on the roof of the Eduard spring is not just any ordinary decorative cockerel; it is a memorial to the cockerel that discovered the sources of the acidic Libverda water. And it was neither green nor colourful, but above all, terribly fat.
Listen to the legendary tale of how one cockerel grew fat because it was the first to have the renowned acidic Libverda water for breakfast.
Once upon a time, when an old border trail led through the wild, empty woods, only rangers walked here, and there was nothing but rocks, forests, clouds, and more forests with deep valleys where abundant streams rippled—bubbling like the Libverda or wild like the Štolpich. In those distant times, in the place where Libverda stands today, there was only a swampy valley, where a broad fen stretched along the stream, sometimes turning into a marsh. Even back then, the area was home to 'Salikvarda,' a ranger who, unlike the others who patrolled the sentry border paths, lived there permanently. He provided the traveling rangers with an inn and accommodation after their exhausting patrols. When 'Salikvarda' settled, he established a small farm. No one remembers the name of this ancient 'Salikvarda,' but what matters is that the first settler had a cottage, a few fields, a meadow, a yard, and in the yard, pigs that thrived—and plenty of hens, ruled by a proud cockerel.
One beautiful day, the cockerel began to grow fat, as if a spell had been cast on it. "Salikvarda", his wife and children started to notice this, so they began to observe the enchanted cockerel. They watched him closely until they discovered that the greedy rooster didn’t drink from the stream like the hens, but instead went to the wetland near the trail—an area that was highly inaccessible, overgrown with dense thickets of trees and bushes. It was dangerous to venture there, as the ground shifted and rocked beneath your feet. But the cockerel, being light on its feet, no matter how fat it grew, could walk across the mud without sinking. The salikvarda shook his head and wondered what sort of water it could be to make the cockerel so fat, and that wasn't all. The cockerel was growing old but remained robust and full of life; however, he wouldn’t last forever, and one day, he died. When "Salikvarda" cut him open, he stopped in amazement. His size wasn’t due to fatness, but rather the enormous size of his innards. He decided to try the water himself. He cut his way through to the well, its surface erupting with large bubbles. He, too, grew plump and healthy. Eventually, the salikvarda could no longer keep the well a secret, and soon all the rangers came to drink from its waters. They named the place Libverda, and that is where the legend ends.
I cannot say whether it is from the 15th or 16th century, but that is of secondary importance. The main thing is the cockerel on the roof of the Eduard spring.