51 Hotel Neptun

At the crossroads on the border of Teplice, Šanov and Prosetice, it is not only Mlýnská and Pražská Streets that meet, but also two brooks: the Bystřice, flowing from the Stone Spa, and the Mill Brook, flowing from the Imperial Spa. The two brooks, which today run underground, shaped a striking group of three rocks surrounded by popular lookouts. From 1841, the dominant feature of this crossroads was Hotel Neptun, named after the ancient god of the waters, because the Mill Brook and the Bystřice flowed around it on both sides.

Its very position on the busy road from Dresden to Prague brought it plenty of visitors. Apart from travellers, however, it also served the people of Teplice: its large hall saw countless balls, meetings of local associations and political gatherings. After the war, social life came to a halt and a music school moved into the hotel. Its splendid hall was used as a storeroom.

Hotel Neptun disappeared from the crossroads in 1975, one of the first victims of the demolition of Písečná and Mlýnská Streets. Whole blocks of Neoclassical buildings had to make way for today’s Prosetice housing estate. Yet one concrete reminder of the hotel has remained: an old chestnut tree from the garden of the Neptun still stands in its place. Only the hotel next to it has been replaced by a block of prefabricated flats.