The natural amhitheather (main place of session)

The natural amphitheater in Loket was built at the end of the 1940s, and thanks to its situation on the banks of the Ohře River opposite the looming Loket Castle it immediately became one of the most attractive natural theaters not only in Bohemia but in all of Europe. Its original capacity of up to 6,000 and the international repertoire performed by leading opera companies incltlding the National Theater in Pragtle became a magnet in the first years for a broad community of visitors. Opera stars of the first rank like Marie Podvalová, Maria Tauberová, Marta Krásová, Beno Blachut, Ivo Žídek, and Zdeněk Otava to name a few, who performed in works by Smetana, Dvořák, Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Bizet, attracted atldiences not only from the immediate and broader environs but from the world-famous spas in Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, and Františkovy Lázně lying not far away. After about ten years of successful operation, however, the organization of summer performances began to stagnate, then starting in the 1960s the natural theater ceased to be used and began to deteriorate.
 

The Town Loket

The first written mention of Loket dates back to the year 1234, but the stone castle here was probably built already in the third quarter of the twelfth century. Later, Emperor Charles IV was aware of the importance of Loket as a border fortress and in his unpublished legal code, Maiestas Carolina, he inclued Loket among towns that must not be stolen from the Czech crown. Legend has it that Charles IV discovered hot curative springs while hunting in the forests around Loket and founded the town Horke Lazne ("Hot Spa"), later called Karlsbad or Karlovy Vary, nearby. Over the course of the centuries Loket has been visited by many important figures. Johann Wolfgang Geothe, for example, stayed here often. In th nineteen century one of the first important porcelain factories in Bohemia was built here. Near Loket, which lies in the beautiful Slavkov Forest surrounded on three sides by the Ohre river, are found the legendary Svatosch Cliffs which inspired the opera Hans Heiling by the German composer Heinrich Marschner. In the nineteenth century the picturesque town of Loket inspired visual artist as well; they portrayed it on many landscape paintings, of which the one by Vincenc Mordstat on the title page of the website depicted the place where more than a century later the natural amphitheather was build.


Attending an opera performance in the natural amphitheater in Loket can be combined with visits to a whole series of other points of interest in the town and its environs. These are above all the castle in Loket, which has survived to this day in its original medieval form, and tours of which are conducted not only during the day but at night with festive illumination. Besides the above-mentioned Svatosch Cliffs and Karlovy Vary, we must not forget the castle and chateau in nearby Becov nad Teplou, where severla years agos was discovered the unigue reliquary os St.Maur, an extraordinary monument to medieval art and craft. Among the other memorable sites in the region are the Premonstrate Cloister with library in Tepla, the empire-style Metternich chateau and park in Kynzvart, and of course the world-famous spas at Marianske Lazne ("Marian Bath") and Frantiskovy Lazne ("Frantz Bath"). Then there is the historical gem that is in the city of Cheb with its Romanesque castle, and the SOOS Nature Reserve near Frantiskovy Lazne with vestgates of volcanic activity. The whole area of Loket is highly interesting and appealing from the standpoints of geography and art history. It is attracting increasing attention on th part of visitors from both the Czech Republic and abroad.