Every German artist seems to have spent vacations here.
Mozart was a regular visitor. The tall trees and cool summer air have found their way into the poetry of Goethe and Heinrich Heine, who were also seduced by the place's beauty. KV is still a spa and vacation spot. The Czechs, who remember communism and the 1968 invasion, hold their noses and fill their pockets. Normally, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival brings a sampling of the international scene to a Czech public, some of whom stay in tents for the entire duration to see movies that they can't see in theaters the rest of the year, since US films tend to dominate Czech screens.