Františkovy Lázně (; ) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,200 inhabitants. Together with neighbouring Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně, it is part of the West Bohemian Spa Triangle. The town centre is well preserved and since 1992 has been protected as an urban monument reservation. In 2021, the town became part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Great Spa Towns of Europe" because of its natural springs and its architectural testimony to the popularity of spa towns across Europe in the 18th through 20th centuries. Administrative parts Villages of Aleje-Zátiší, Dlouhé Mosty, Dolní Lomany, Horní Lomany, Krapice, Slatina and Žírovice are administrative parts of Františkovy Lázně. Geography Františkovy Lázně is located about north of Cheb, in the historical Egerland region. It is situated in the westernmost part of the Cheb Basin. The Slatinný Stream, a tributary of the Ohře, flows through the municipal territory. The area is rich on fish ponds. The largest of them is Amerika. Its western part with an island is protected as a nature reserve and is an important nesting place and migration stop of water birds. The eastern part of the pond is used for recreation. History The salutary effects of the surrounding springs were known from the late 14th century on. The physician Georgius Agricola (1494–1555) mentioned the mineral water available to Cheb citizens. The sources from which, according to ancient law, water was drafted and brought to the city, were first used locally for salutary purposes. Later, the water was also shipped in earthenware bottles and in 1700, it reportedly sold more water than all other spas in the Empire combined. About 1705, an inn was erected at the site of a mineral spring later known as Franzensquelle. On 27 April 1793, the town was officially founded under the name Kaiser Franzensdorf, after Emperor Francis II, and later renamed Franzensbad. The spa was founded by Eger-based doctor Bernhard Adler (1753–1810). He promoted the expansion of spa facilities and the accommodation for those seeking healing and promoted the transformation of the swampy moorland with paths and footbridges to well-known sources. The town was laid out around 24 springs in an orthogonal plan. When in 1791 Adler had a pavilion and a water basin erected at the Franzensquelle, he sparked the Egerer Weibersturm ("Women's storm of Eger")