The history of the Royal Golf hotel
The Royal Golf hotel is situated in one of the most beautiful spots in Karlovy Vary in the picturesque valley the Tepla River, on the Tančírna (Dancing Room) hillock in the northern part of the Slavkovsky Forest. Actually, the building is not a real chateau but a majestic edifice whose imposing architecture once made villagers to call it ‘chateau’. The history of the building is closely tied with the factory owner Rudolf Fischer who co-owned the Fischer – Mieg porcelain plant in Březová. In the 1880’s Fischer bought several lots with farms in Cihelny and turned them into a huge manor farm estate. Later in 1890 Fischer had a luxury summer house built according to plans by the Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer (ao. Grandhotel Pupp Karlovy Vary, Volkstheater in Vienna, National Opera in Odesa/Ukraine, State Opera in Prague. )
The one-storey building with oriels, spires and large attic premises was enclosed in a park. Next to it there used to be a huge farm building. Inside the mansion was a number of valuable works of arts, a presentable hunter’s room, a Japanese room in one of the towers, a rich collection of old pipes, precious paintings and oriental carpets. After Fischer’s death the house was inherited by his daughter Johanna Marie who married Felix Knoll, a Karlovy Vary attorney-at-law, in 1896. In 1899 the Knolls had son Wolfgang Eduart who later became the last owner of the Cihelny estate.
The first general mention of the Cihelny neighborhood is found in chronicles of 1934 under the name ‘Ziegelhütte’. Back then the area comprised 17 houses. Four people were Czech, 137 were German and 5 were foreigners.
On November 3, 1934 a larger part of the building burnt down. Firemen needed more than 10 hours to extinguish the fire. In addition to the hunter’s room the fire consumed nearly all furnishings. The Karlovy Vary Daily covered the disaster with a large report that mentioned, among others, attempts to frustrate the firemen’s work. During their intervention some of the hoses were cut. The offender was never found. As far as we know the building was soon restored and acquired nearly its original looks.
In 1945 the chateau became the property of the Soviet Union that later gave it back to the then Czechoslovakia. The building was entrusted with the people’s regional committee and later with the people’s district committee in Karlovy Vary. In the 1960’s the property was taken over by the company Tesla Nýřany that intended to build a pioneer camp or weekend recreation facility for its employees. The plan was dropped and the chateau was sold to a private person instead who, however, did not save the building either. It continued to fall into disrepair and its dilapidation was made even worse by vandals, the homeless and thieves who were happy to steal, for instance, the decorative metal gate from the park main entrance. It was only in the 1970’s that the property was put under the administration of the factory committee of the people’s committee of Prague that started its expensive, extensive reconstruction.
The three-year-long construction project was carried out by Pozemní stavby Karlovy Vary. The occupancy approval was granted in April 1980 at which time the facility served as a recreational compound offering nine double rooms with extra beds and a total capacity of 30 beds.
Several years after the Velvet Revolution the Chateau and the adjacent buildings were reconstructed and transformed into a hotel facility by its former owner Princ Albert. The present-day owners have remodeled the main building in a brand new chateau art style and extended the accommodation capacity to a total of 62 beds (including both separate buildings). The Royal Golf chateau thus regained its charm and romantic nature.
The Royal Golf art hotel in Cihelny is the architectonic gem of the northern nook of the Slavkovsky Forest. Fortunately, despite the many years of complicated history and decay its devastation was warded off at the eleventh hour. We can only hope that the number of similarly rescued buildings will increase.
