Budapest thermal baths
The Budapest thermal baths are the thermal springs and bathhouses in the Hungarian capital Budapest . This city is not only the only spa that is also the capital, but also the largest spa town in Europe. More than 30,000 cubic meters of mineral-rich water are available from over 120 hot springs in 21 baths, 10 of which are medicinal baths. Many of these baths are also buildings of considerable historical and architectural importance.
history
Already in the 2nd century there were 14 thermal baths in the then Roman Aquincum , today's Budapest . The culture of the Roman thermal baths was gradually lost with the fall of the Roman Empire and its withdrawal from Pannonia , but was re-established with the occupation by the Turks during the 16th and 17th centuries, and by 1669 eight baths are reported. The bathing culture established by the Turks in the form of hammam has remained popular even after they withdrew from Hungary. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, there was a special climax when baths like the Gellért bath, probably the most famous of Budapest, or the Széchenyi bath , to this day one of the largest bath complexes in Europe, were erected as monumental representative buildings . Since the end of socialism in 1989, many of the baths have been gradually restored.
meaning
For Budapest, the thermal baths have played two major roles over the centuries.
On the one hand, they are important social meeting places for the city's residents to this day, in keeping with the oriental bathing culture conveyed by the Turkish occupation. Regular bathing is roughly the same as going to a pub or café in other European countries. Although Budapest also has a high-quality café culture, neighbors or friends usually meet in the same bathroom.
On the other hand, Budapest's thermal baths were among the most important and popular spas in Europe in the heyday of bathing and spa tourism , especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries . No other city in Europe could offer the combination of metropolitan lifestyle and spa operations, especially since at this time the character of Budapest's baths changed stylistically from functional to representative buildings.
Indirectly, the enormous number of thermal baths (which is by no means limited to Budapest) and the associated bathing culture of the Hungarians is also the reason why the Magyars have been producing great water sports enthusiasts for decades. The number of Olympic champions and world champions in swimming competitions or in water polo is astonishingly high and exceeds any landlocked nation whose area and population size could be compared with that of Hungary.
Customs
After moving, the visitor to the bathroom is assigned a locker by a locker in which he can store his belongings. The key remains with the locker (the so-called "Kabinosúr", Hungarian for: "Cabin Master"), the visitor is only given a stamp with a stamped number, which is noted on a chalkboard on the locker, together with his arrival time. Electronic key systems have recently been installed at least in the Szechenyi bath, the Gellért bath, the Rudas bath and the Lukács bath. You receive a wristband with a transponder chip that reports the paid services booking (spa / thermal bath, locker / cabin, etc.) to the entrance barriers and grants access (or not) and also serves as a cabin key.
In swimming areas in some pools (including the Gellért pool) it is compulsory to wear a bathing cap , in some pools you are only allowed to swim in a given direction - and thus practically in the roundabout. In the thermal baths not only “splashing”, but also swimming is undesirable. Wearing normal swimwear is unusual in the thermal baths, which are separated according to sex, usually only a light loincloth is worn, which covers the pubic area, and complete nudity is not uncommon.
Important Budapest baths
Rudas bath
The bathing complex of the Rudas baths (formerly Zöldoszlopos fürdő , green column bath ), located directly on the Danube , at the foot of the Gellért mountain , was founded around 1550 with a thermal bath and has been expanded several times. The most important extensions were the construction of the steam bath in 1883, the construction of an indoor swimming pool in 1986 and the addition of a physiotherapy department . This offers exercise and tub baths in medicinal water, underwater jet massages and other massages for complaints of the locomotor organs and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. There is specialist medical care for rheumatology.
The core of the complex, the thermal bath, was rebuilt in 1566 under the rule of Sokollu Mustafa Pascha , but has hardly been changed since then. It is almost in its original condition, almost 450 years old: it is the oldest and is considered the most beautiful of the baths in Budapest that were still built by the Turks.
The dome of the thermal bath, supported by eight red marble columns, with a diameter of 10 meters, covers an octagonal central basin (96 m², 36 ° C ) fed by three springs , surrounded by a pointed arch. In the corners of the room there are four more small pools (9 m²) with different temperatures (42 ° C, 33 ° C, 30 ° C, 28 ° C). Originally the only source of light in the room are tessellae made of colored glass embedded in the dome, through which tinted daylight penetrates.
In April 2004 the Rudas bath was closed for renovation purposes and the work was completed at the end of 2005. Access to the thermal bath was traditionally reserved for men; it was considered a meeting place for journalists and politicians. After the reopening there were protests by women, to which the city administration finally gave in, and in 2006 "ladies days" were introduced in the bathroom on an experimental basis. There is also the possibility for both sexes to use the bathroom together at night, but only in swimwear. On the weekends, the bathroom is available to both sexes.
Király bath
The construction of the Király baths began in 1565 under the rule of the Buda pasha Arszlán (Lion) and was completed by his successor, Sokoli Mustafa. Unlike other baths, it is not built on its own natural hot water sources, but is fed by the springs at the Lukács bath. The purpose of this measure by the Turks was to have a bath within the fortress ring so that a bath could also be used in the event of a siege. The name "Király" (Hungarian "King") comes from the family who ran the spa from 1796 after Buda was recaptured.
The Király baths were rebuilt into its current form by the Királys, combining the old building structures with the new elements and thus maintaining the character of an art monument. The bath had to be renovated after severe damage in World War II and was reopened in 1950. This makes the Király the only bath next to the Rudas bath that lets the visitor feel the original Turkish bathing culture. It is open to both men and women. When the Rác bath was closed for renovation purposes in 2002, the Király bath took its place as a gay meeting place.
For the therapy of the disease of the locomotor organs, the exercise bath in the healing water basin, the bathtub with healing water, the underwater jet massage and the medical healing massage are offered today.
Gellért bath
The Art Nouveau Gellért Bath is the most famous bath in Budapest. The springs on Gellért Hill that it uses were known as early as the 13th century. The current bath was built as part of the Hotel Gellért and opened in 1918. The bath, which is very large compared to other baths in the city, is almost unchanged today despite the destruction in World War II . The outdoor pool with wave pool was opened in 1927. In 1934 a whirlpool was added. As a result of recent renovations, the seating areas in the indoor swimming pool and outdoors, as well as the children's pool, have received modern filter and circulation systems.
In addition to the mixed pools, there are separate thermal and steam baths for men and women. In addition to the opulent equipment with three outdoor and ten indoor pools (26 to 38 ° C), the wide range of therapeutic measures (exercise bath in the healing water pool, bathtub with healing water, mud packs, underwater traction bath, carbonic acid bath, medicinal therapeutic massage, underwater jet massage, electrotherapy and massage) the Gellért Bath, also because of the tourist crowd, has become one of the most important baths in the city. It is suitable for diseases of the locomotor and respiratory organs as well as for diseases of the peripheral circulatory system, with specialist care in rheumatology and pulmonology being offered.
Szechenyi bath
The Széchenyi bath has the deepest and at 75 ° C hottest thermal springs in Budapest, which were only discovered in 1879 and were the first in the Pest part of the city. They were already known as the Artesian Bath in 1881 . The Széchenyi bath is one of the largest bathing complexes in Europe to this day and is located in the middle of the city forest . In 1927 the bath was expanded to include a public bathing section for men and women and a lido. In the mid- 1960s , a joint thermal department for visitors in swimwear and a physiotherapy department were created. In 2004 the bathroom was completely and true to the original restored.
The spacious and spectacular palace-like complex of the Széchenyi has three outdoor and twelve indoor pools with temperatures between 16 ° C and 40 ° C as well as two saunas, a steam bath and a hot room. The adventure pool offers, among other things, underwater whirlpools, a flow channel, a neck shower and water jets built into benches for back massage. In addition to physiotherapeutic treatments, there is the exercise bath or bathtub in medicinal water, mud treatments, the underwater traction bath, the carbonic acid bath, electrotherapy, therapeutic gymnastics and massages. Furthermore, indications for diseases of the locomotor organs, women’s diseases, diseases of the peripheral circulatory system and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are offered. Specialist care is available at Rheumatology.
Lukács bath
The Lukács bath is a thermal and swimming pool, built in the neoclassical style by József Hild in 1842. It is a little off the beaten track. Until the Széchényi was built, it was the largest and most popular bath in Budapest. The numerous votive tablets in the courtyard of the complex testify to its former glory as one of the most internationally renowned spas in the city, which tell in many languages of the healing and relief provided by the water in the bath.
In 1979 the first department for physiotherapy was established in the Lukács Spa. In a total of eight pools (22 ° –40 ° C), the treatments are exercise bath, mud treatment, underwater traction bath, carbonic acid bath, electrotherapy and other massages. There is specialist medical care for rheumatology. The inner facilities have little to offer architecturally (and are currently not in the best condition), but the outdoor pools are worth seeing.
Császár Bath / Veli Bej Bath
Location
The Császár baths (today "Veli Bej" baths), originally built by Sokoli Mustafa in 1571/1572, whose springs were already known and used by the Romans, was expanded and heavily modified in1829 byJózsef Hild, the builder of the Lukács baths. After several years of renovation work, thebath was reopenedin 2012 under the direction of an order ofhospitallersas "Veli Bej" bath.
Császár Komjádi sports swimming pool
Right next to it is the Komjádi sports swimming pool, built in 1976, whose outdoor pool is also fed by thermal springs.
More baths in the city
- Dagaly-Strandbad (modern spa in the north of the city, location )
- Dandár Bath (communal spa in Ferencváros, IX district )
- Palatinus beach (Donaustrandbad, only open seasonally, location )
- Rác bath (from the 16th century, location )
- Aerial photos of Budapest thermal baths
Király thermal baths
Gellért bath
Lukács thermal bath
Széchenyi thermal baths
Széchenyi thermal baths
Rudas thermal bath
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