"Karlovy Vary used to be often involved by opposed natural disasters - it suffered from floods and fires. There were the worst floods in 1582, 1821 and 1890 and the biggest fires ruined this thermal town in years 1604 and 1759. By extend of damage was the worst disaster of this spa the big fire on the miserable Friday on August 13, 1604. There were 102 houses in the town at that time and 99 of them burned down so there were just 3 houses left. The quaint thing is, that the fire and destruction of Karlovy Vary brought along some warm butter. The fire broke out in Merkur house on the marketplace, which was situated on the place of today's secession house Zawojski and it belonged to a widow Apolonia Rubendunst. Her three daughters had gotten a task to dissolve a lump of butter in a big pot on the open fire. Girls didn't care, because they were watching sharpshooters practising marching on the marketplace out of the window.
The ardent butter flashed out, overflowed and caught on fire. The labour of those girls to put the fire down was lost, in a while was the house completely ablaze. Unfortunately there was blowing a strong wind which scattered burning shingles from the roof to the other houses around. Quenching works had minimal effect because of huge power and speed of the fire - big part of citizens was working out of their houses on the squares and meadows and came late to the place of fire and there was also absence of extinguishing tools, which were deposited in the Mension tower (it was one of the first buldings burned).
The fire started at 10 AM and lasted just for 3 hours, i.e. 1 PM. One fact shows evidence of the power of the fire: many of Karlovy Vary half-burned papers were found in area of today's Kyselka, which means 12-15 km East from burned town. Lately Gothic and Renaissance Karlovy Vary, whose citizans were totally beggared by the fire, exactly went under in 1604 and must have been completely rebuilt (and it took many years). Paradoxical is, that the fire had hastened rising of baroque Karlovy Vary, which was much more imposing than before. Widow Rubendunst and her daughters were deported out of the town forever, but it was just weak satisfaction for depressed citizens of the thermal town."