Goethe already visited the Bohemian volcanoes

The town of Cheb is situated on the river Eger in the north-west of the Czech Republic, former name Egerland, whose historical center is the city Cheb, about 42 km west-west of Karlovy Vary.

Eight kilometers north-east of the city is the nature reserve Soos near Nový Drahov, a peat and mineral meadow moor with carbon dioxide gas of volcanic origin emanating from mofettes. Remains of the two most recent Bohemian volcanoes, which Goethe had also explored there.

Eger / Cheb was first mentioned as Egire on February 13, 1061. The castle was possibly built in the early tenth century. In 1167 Eger came into the possession of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa. Eger was made a city before 1179. King Frederick II signed the Gold Bull of Eger there on July 12, 1213, which strengthened the legal status of the empire's bishops and enlarged the Papal States. In 1242 Eger received Nuremberg city rights and in 1277 it became an imperial city.