Hello everyone,
I thought for a short time - I read previous and beginner content -, what to write in the first post of the hive.blog. As I know a little Budapest, Hungary + it is summer time, I visited most of the places, have some pictures about them and found some communities, where this content fits, and noone has written about it before, i chose the thermal baths of Budapest, instead of starting with something completely independent, unique, 100% original content.
There are 12 thermal baths in Budapest, in addition to countless other baths. 10 of which are in operation, 1 has demolished years ago, 1 is waiting for a complete renovation, several others could get the official title for it, because of different reasons, they don't want it.Since most of them are all touristically and architecturally special, I will take them one by one, starting with perhaps the most well-known one, the Széchenyi Thermal Bath.
##Széchenyi Thermal Bath and Swimming Pool
H-1146 Budapest, Hungary, Állatkerti Boulevard 9-11
###History of the bath
Built more than 100 years ago, Széchenyi Thermal Bath is still one of the largest baths in Europe. It is not by chance that it attracts a lot of guests from both home and abroad.
At the end of the 1800s, research drilling began at the suggestion of Vilmos Zsigmondy, a mining engineer, in the city park, in Budapest. After finding thermal water at a depth of nearly 1 km, for a time a small beach operated under the name Artesian Bath.
The idea of building a bath was already dealt with by the capital in 1884. Győző Czigler, a teacher at the university of technology, worked in the design of the building for more than twenty years, but after he died in 1905, the actual structure of his work was directed by his direct colleagues, Ede Dvorák and Kálmán Gerster.
After several modifications to the site, the actual construction began on May 7, 1909. The foreman architect was Jenő Schmitterer.
The bath, which until then had been known as the Artesian Bath, was opened on 16 June 1913, already under the name of Széchenyi Spa. It cost about 3,900,000 gold crowns (approx. $18.5 million in 2022), total built-up area was 6220 square meters. It's named after Earl István Széchenyi, whose name can be associated with countless buildings in Budapest and the countryside, one of the most famous is the Chain Bridge in Budapest or originally, Széchenyi Bridge.
Budapest is also called the city of baths, it received the title "Bath City" in 1930, at that time there were more than 80 baths in operation in the city. For the 13th year in a row, a national event of the Night of Baths is organized, usually with the participation of dozens of baths, with night opening hours.
The bath was then divided into private baths, men's and women's steam baths, and men's and women's folk baths, according to its schedule. Its turnover exceeded 200,000 in 1913 and peaked at almost 900,000 in 1919. (Budapest population according to the 1910 census is 1,110,450.)
The spa has been expanded and renovated several times over the years. The most significant was the drilling of the second well. Work began on July 9, 1936, and they lasted about two years. On March 16, 1938, at a depth of 1,256 meters Thermal water of 77 °C was found. 6,000 m³ / day of water came to the surface from the well, which solved the thermal water supply of the bath. And the heating of the building. By 1939, the heating system of the bath was converted to heating with thermal water, and in addition to the bath, a drinking hall was built.
Near the well, a pool with a carved stone rim with a diameter of 12 meters was built, a bronze fountain and a light-structured pavilion were built, where rounded forms and materials (steel, glass) typical of the 1930s were used. The fountain and drinking hall bearing the name of St. Stephen It was handed over on 17 August 1939, which was also advertised by the large neon inscription typical of the period.
The traffic of the bath increased until 1944. During World War II, the building suffered significant damage, but 2nd well was not injured. In 1945, after the war, restoration work began, and already in March the right bathtub department was used by Soviet soldiers, the left bathtub class and the women's bathtub class could also be used by the population.
In 1949, a new social mudbath department was established. From 1950, gynecological mudbath treatments were also introduced in this department. It took place in 1952 the introduction of physiotherapy and electrotherapy treatments, as well as salt baths. First time, on November 26, 1963, the bath was opened for the winter.
In 1981, the operation of the male "folk class" ceased and a social spa department in bathing suits was established in its place. The following year, on the site of the women's folk department, the development of a day hospital began, which functions as a complex physiotherapy department.
###Buildings of the spa
The southeastern wing of the building overlooking the City Park is classicist in style, but most of its elements are rather neo-Renaissance. In the exterior and interior decoration of the building the use of water-related motives has played an important role. Stylized water monsters, shellfish, fish, mermaids on the candelabras in front of the building, they can also be found on the exterior decorations of the building, as well as swans and dolphins. These elements were also applied to the pillar heads, ornamental vessels, as well as tiles used as interior decoration.
Indoor building wings have completely different styles, partly due to the destruction caused by WWII, partly to renovations, Albert Petrik in his book, published in 1915, he originally described the men's and women's divisions as representing different styles. Based on the rooms where modern medical treatments are located, it is impossible to recognize the building. (On the website of the spa you can find detailed information about this, illustrated with pictures, personally I did not find it interesting, relevant - and due to its prices, I never used it. It's like being in a 21st century wellness center.) I do not detail other multifunctional indoor rooms, such as the conference room, for the same reasons.
The space around the outdoor pools and the building are decorated with numerous statues, there is a fountain on the side of the elongated pools. The bath built in two stages presents an architecturally uniform image, but in its style it is eclectic, historical.Many sources describe it as a neo-Baroque building, elsewhere it is considered neo-Renaissance style. (Personally, I would not categorize it, because as many sources I have read, even those who are more competent than me have not been able to find common ground.)
Similarly to several spas in the country, the Széchenyi Bath has a mirrored structure. (I will mention this in later writings, as it shows quite a lot of coincidences, while there was no national, centralized plan or instruction in this regard.) The same pools can be found in both wings of the building. The official explanation for this is that when designing it, due to the separation of the sexes, the same pools were placed in two wings.
The most decorated room of the building is the dome hall of the Thermal Bath - also the most beautiful and valuable part of the building. In addition to its valuable sculptural and stucco decoration, the most defining elements of the square are mosaic paintings. These are the works of the world-famous Miksa Róth, which was partly based on the cardboard of the painter Zsigmond Vajda. The theme of the pictures is water - as a source of health, strength, beauty and purity. At first, you get the impression that you have entered some church or religion-related building.
About the pictures in the dome, according to Albert Petrik's book:
"In the circle of the dome flood, Helios, the god of the sun, the fountain of all life, gallops on the chariot of Quadriga. This image is circled ring-like by the decoration, in which an allegory of the twelve months of the year is depicted in small medaillons, encased in triple groups per season. The dome vault is illuminated by four semicircular windows, and the wall areas between them are decorated with figurative mosaic images exemplifying egyptian, Greek, Roman and eastern bathing. On the four arches holding the dome, the source of heat, healing, leaping and drinking is depicted in symbolic images. On the semicircular surface of the two side walls of the central hall, allegorical figures of Force and Beauty can be seen."
I thought I would quote this detail literally, because it was new to me as well and even more incomprehensible to what they are looking for in this building, what motivated the creators to portray exactly that.
The other statues and pillarheads in the dome hall are almost all made by different creators, the list is almost endless. In addition to other works, in various descriptions, the origin and creator of the mosaic paintings are doubtful, since in addition to Miksa Róth, György Vastagh also claims to be his own, whose participation Róth also acknowledges in his autobiographical writings.
There are 100s of smaller-bigger statues all around the building. There are 4 tryton statues on the dome is associated with the names of different creators (István Vastagh, Gyula Bezerédy, Dezső Maiden and Istvan Szentgyörgyi). That stands correct for almost all the other statues in the complex. I won't name them further.
By the second half of the 20th century, the condition of the bath had deteriorated greatly. Between 1997 and 2006, renovation work was carried out almost continuously in different parts of the complex.
###Swimming pools, thermal pools, saunas, steam baths
The building has a total of 21 pools. If you come to the spa from the direction of the main entrance (picture above), you can find two pools through the cabin dressing rooms, in the middle of the building: an elongated thermal pool of 38 °C and a semicircular 34 °C thermal pool. Behind the latter there is a rest area in a semicircle. Also from this hall you can reach the wet steam cabin of 40-50 °C, in front of which there is a shower part. Moving to the left of the central hall, there is a pool of 28 °C, where a rolling equipment - don't know how the English calls it :) - works at a specified time. Moving further from here, there is an octagon pool with medicinal water of 36 °C. There are two saunas around the pool, as well as a steam room. They also have an 18°C plunge pool. From the octagon pool space you can go further to the outdoor pools. Going straight further, you get to a pool area decorated with red columns and jugs: the elongated rectangular thermal pool has a temperature of 35 °C, and the semicircular pool has 38 degrees of thermal water. At the end of the pool area there are two smaller pools (diving pools of 40 °C and 20 °C) and a chamomile steam cabin.
That was just the left side, because of the symmetry we find roughly the same pools on the right side. I won't describe the 3 outdoor pools, those are very visible on the pictures.
Adding only: The central pool is a swimming pool of 26-28 °C, in which they swim around in accordance with local customs. This is the only pool where it is mandatory to use a bath cap. One of the other outdoor pool called as "the experience pool", there is a rolling corridor, a back massage water jet, underwater fizzing and a neck shower.
From the outdoor pool area, 1-1 staircase leads to the basement saunas located in both the right and left wings of the building. The saunas, which can accommodate up to 40 people each, also have an 18°C plunge pool.
###The spa's medicinal water
The first Artesian well supplying the bath was drilled by Vilmos Zsigmondy between 1868 and 1878, and 74.5 degrees of water broke out of the 970-meter deep well. In 1936 the second well was drilled, led by Ferenc Pávai-Vajna: The 1240-meter deep well bursts into Europe's hottest source of thermal water, with a temperature of 77 °C.
Thermal water contains sodium and is rich in calcium-magnesium-hydrogen-carbonate, sulphate substances with a significant fluoride and metaboric acid content. The medicinal water of the bath is recommended for those struggling with degenerative diseases of the joints, as well as to supplement chronic and semi-acute arthritis, orthopedic, accident follow-up treatments.
###Interesting facts
-The Széchenyi spa has a so-called proxy-watch access control system. The proxy watch has a chip that can store certain information. You can display them with different reading equipment. For example, with the equipment with a pictogram with a clothes hanger, which can be found in many parts of the bath, we can find out in which cabinet or cabin we placed our clothes. (Perhaps, you think it is useless, but when you are first there in summer time - approx. 5000+ people there all the time - good luck to find your cabin!)
-The Széchenyi spa can be used regularly in the framework of night events In the first months of the year, the Baths Night event, and spaparty events during the summer. It basically turns into a dance club at night. Pretty amazing experience to go out into the nightlife with a towel and a small beach ball. (There are much less drunk, annoying people. Just mention it, if you can't really stand them...)
-There are occasional evening film screenings in the bath, especially in the summer.
-For about 2,000 years, mankind has known, loved and used thermal waters in the territory of the Hungary.
-Budapest has 118 thermal springs under its territory.
-The maximum capacity of the spa in summer is about 8000 people.
-On average, 8 million cubic meters of thermal water flow through the Széchenyi Spa every year.
-The spa has a total of 21 pools in use.
-The water of the spa can be used not only externally, but also internally. As a drinking cure, you can cure the following complaints: chronic gastritis, stomach ulcers, intestinal tract, gastric acid overload, chronic inflammations of the kidney pelvis and urinary tract, chronic hurut of the respiratory organs, gout, lime deficiency bones.
-The hippo of the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden receives its bathing water from one of the sources that also feeds the Széchenyi bath, as its chemical composition is similar to the composition of the river Nile.
###My personal opinion both from architecture and tourism side:
One of the best and most beautiful baths in the country, in Europe, perhaps even in the world, it is definitely the best I've been to, and the building leaves behind castles. However, it is incredibly expensive for the local population, a daily ticket starts at 7100 HUF (18 USD) and other services range from 20,000 to 50,000 HUF (50-125 USD). And you are not allowed to go to the balcony on the top level, only on the middle... i know few persons, photo hunters, fanatics, whose find it very disturbing.
Personally, to this day I can't believe that it's only 100 years old, that it really holds up for the official history of the building. The many small decorations, sculptures, very detailed craftsmanship, time standing, indefinite style, yet picturesque, symmetrical buildings...
When I first came here, I thought I was in the wrong place, looking at the main entrance, just few people would assume that they had come to a bath, they would rather think that they came to a much more imposing building.
Even with the relatively expensive prices, those who go to Budapest should not miss it, it is open in winter and summer, it is a lasting experience for all ages and for young people the evening/night parties will surely remain unique.
Unfortunately, I did not find any usable building plan of the complex, instead of that, i add here the free flyer map for tourists - far from the perfect, but at least easier to imagine the structure and size of the building.
The official English webpage of the bath includes countless photos about the building and other facilities (also day/night, winter/summer pictures).
https://www.szechenyibath.hu/photos/photos-of-szechenyi-thermal-baths-9
Generally, I don't like to link videos, especially not from youtube, but exceptionally stand here 2 short ones, it will probably give you a better return aboout the mood (The first is in winter time, the 2nd about the parties):
I can't decide if I've split it in the right proportions, I've detailed it so that it fits the travel and architecture community guidelines. I can't write less about it, I could do more, but for me it's questionable whether it wouldn't be too much.
Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Sources:
Albert Petrik: The Széchenyi Bath in Budapest. Building Industry - Building Art 1915.
Csaba Meskó: Thermal Baths, Budapest, 1998
Peter Meleghy: Spas of Budapest, Corvina, 2012
https://www.szechenyibath.hu/
https://termalonline.hu/
https://termalfurdok.com/
http://epiteszforum.hu/
Photos taken from the air are from the official sites (free to use), 1 (black and white) from Albert Petrik's 1915 book and the rest took by me.