Loipersdorf thermal baths
The Therme Loipersdorf is a thermal bath in the municipality of Bad Loipersdorf in the thermal and volcanic region of Styria .
history
In June 1972, Rohöl-WINNING AG carried out the “Binderberg 1” deep well in the village of Neubrennten in the Loipersdorf municipality with the aim of tracking down oil and gas deposits . On July 10th of the same year, as a result of a drilling accident, attention was drawn to thermal water resources. This outbreak was caused by a gas-bearing layer ( CO 2 ) , which was encountered at a depth of 1700 meters. Boreholes are usually filled with heavy filling in order to prevent a borehole from going up, but in this specific case the flush volume was too small and not heavy enough. The amount of water found was initially low. At the same time, a high CO 2 concentration was found. At a depth of 1,728.70 meters, drilling was stopped to focus on higher strata. The 62 degrees hot thermal water, which is heated, among other things, by rising CO 2 , was obtained from a depth of 1038–1108 meters.
In June 1975 the company "Thermalquelle Loipersdorf GesmbH & Co KG" was founded. Originally, 85% of the company was owned by the Province of Styria and 15% by the nine surrounding communities. Horst Wagner became the company's managing director.
In 1977, half an air kilometer away from the original drilling site, further drilling was carried out on the Lautenberg. In the course of this, thermal water was found at a depth of 1,100 to 1,200 meters, which had an equally high water quality. Characteristic for the water found were a temperature of 60 degrees and a daily pouring of 500,000 liters. At the time, it was expected that the spring would provide water for at least a century.
An old farmhouse, about 100 meters east of the building site of the actual thermal bath, served as a location for a field trial to test the thermal bath concept in practice. At the same time, the building was saved from planned demolition. A simple concrete basin was set up in the yard of the house, and a round basin was in the barn. On July 15, 1978, the so-called Schaffelbad was opened and in the first year it registered 90,000 visitors. Subsequent renovations were carried out, among other things the courtyard basin was enclosed and the terrace was glazed. In the early days after the discovery of the thermal spring, it was customary to obtain thermal water directly from the springs by pumping and to hand this over in canisters as a free donation for private households.
On September 25, 1981, the nearby, actual main thermal baths and the attached sauna opened. An architecture competition was announced for the design of the thermal baths, which the Graz architects Ilgerl-Peneff-Walch won.
On the night of September 24th to 25th 1983 a fire broke out in the thermal baths. The cause of the fire could not be clearly determined, but it was assumed that the sauna heater was defective. Days before, a glowing wooden wall behind the sauna had to be extinguished as part of cleaning work. The basement with its technical systems, a large part of the adventure pool and the nearby Schaffelbad were excluded from the fire. No one was injured in the fire. On September 29, 1985, the thermal baths were reopened under the motto “Loipersdorf builds on”, expanded to include an enlarged sauna village, a solarium area, a yellow slide and the thermal bath's own chapel. The focus was increasingly shifted to day-to-day business.
Additional renovation work followed from 1993. 1995–1996 the Schaffelbad was expanded, including a sweaty landscape and biotopes. As part of the eastward expansion of the thermal bath, the adventure pool was expanded and a beach with real sand was created. In 2001 the Schaffelbad 3 was opened.
Infrastructure
The Loipersdorf thermal baths have a total area of 36,000 m 2 and are divided into several areas. The "adventure world" is the largest area in terms of surface area with 23,000 m 2 , which includes an outdoor area, a multimedia slide, a wave pool and a beach. The "Schaffelbad" (8,500 m 2 ) with the Roman pool, rock pool and atrium pool is a quiet zone. The “thermal world” includes a sauna village, hot and cold water pools, indoor and outdoor pools, a salarium, rock showers and a Roman steam bath. There is also a therapy world.
The daily water consumption is 970,000 liters, with two thirds of the total amount being used, significantly more thermal than fresh water. Depending on the season, the annual flow rate of water amounts to 140,000 to 226,300 m 3 . The facility has 35 pools, 16 of them with fresh water and 19 with thermal water, with a total volume of 4,500 m 3 . There are 9 thermal water and 9 fresh water treatment plants in use.
The annual number of visitors is around 630,000. The capacity of the indoor areas is around 2,000 people in the winter months. In the summer months, this number doubles as the outdoor areas are added. The thermal baths are aimed at families as well as seniors and single people.
Water quality
In the course of the history of Therme Loipersdorf, several studies have been carried out on the effectiveness of thermal water. The Medical University of Graz and the State Hospital St. Pölten were able to prove in their study published in 2011 that a 25-minute bath in thermal water significantly reduces the cortisol level in the saliva. The cortisol level is an indicator of stress in the human body. The study was carried out at thermal baths in the Styrian thermal region. In 1976 the Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Graz carried out investigations into the characteristics of the water in the Loipersdorf thermal baths. Furthermore, the Institute for Analytical Chemistry at the University of Graz by KJ Irgolic examined the water for quality and ingredients in 1996. Further investigations were carried out by Prof. Scheminsky at the University of Innsbruck. Characteristic of the thermal water of the Loipersdorf thermal baths are the high mineralization (7,500 mg dissolved mineral ingredients per liter of water), a variety of cations and anions, and a high salt content. Based on the ingredients, the water can be referred to as “thermal sodium chloride hydrogen carbonate mineral acid”.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Franz Timischl: Loipersdorf Dietersdorf Gillersdorf. Weishaupt Verlag, Gnas 2006 ( PDF; 3.5 MB ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice . ).
- ↑ a b c d e Press information Therme Loipersdorf September 2009 ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (52.0 KB)
- ↑ a b c d e f Horst Wagner: The water miracle - the origin and success story of the Loipersdorf thermal baths. styria regional, Vienna-Graz-Klagenfurt 2011, ISBN 978-3-7012-0080-1 .
- ^ Loipersdorf thermal baths. In: press documents . Press kit 2019 of Therme Loipersdorf. On Therme.at ( PDF ; 208 KB), accessed on October 23, 2019.
- ↑ Quoted from Claudia Richter: Thermal water lowers stress: Scientifically proven . In: Die Presse , January 16, 2012. Accessed June 9, 2015.
- ↑ a b [1] (Homepage overview)
Coordinates: 46 ° 59 ′ 3.9 " N , 16 ° 6 ′ 40.8" E