Király Thermal Baths
H-1027 Budapest, 84 Fő str., Hungary
I picked for the next an other Turkish Bath (basically 2), as I visited only this one, I will just post 1 picture about the other one. The Király (King) Bath is in a pretty bad condition, I am in doubt which picture I should post first, as it looks really bad from street front, so leave it for later. Since 2020 it's closed, waiting for renovation. (More than a decade long story.) However, the Veli Bej Bath is already renovated and open. I like this one, the Király Bath because it gives a better picture about the real Budapest. It is not the shiny city center condition, unfotunately there are plenty different kind of buildings in Budapest like this one.
History, construction
The spa was built near one of the busiest gates, the Rooster Gate, so it was called the Rooster Gate Bath at the time. Its construction was probably started by Arslan Pasha in 1565 (2 decades after the occupation of Buda), who was executed a year later by order of the Sultan, so the works were completed by the next Pasha, Sokoli Mustafa. By this time, all that was left was the vaulting and furnishing of the premises.
In terms of its floor plan layout, we can say that it is the basic type of thermal baths in Hungary. The three halls – lobby, transition room and pool hall – are located in one axis. Today, only the central pool hall and the three smaller rooms connected to it remain, which could probably be used for undressing, resting and hair removal.
The central dome hall was built above a multi-tiered pool with an octagon floor plan. The light through the openwork gaps in the dome will light the pool in a cozy way. In case someone never been in a Turkish bath, those are not electric lights on the dome...
Its water supply was made at the time of construction and currently from the thermal wells excavated in the area of st. Luke's Spa. This is the only bath without own well.
The imperial armies managed to retake the city on September 2, 1686. As an orphaned building, it became the property of Emperor Leopold I, who, together with the Rudas bath, gifted it to his court physician, Frederick Illmer of Wartenberg, in 1687. It's changed owners more than 20 times in the following 3 centuries.
The first significant expansion of the building was probably due to the bather and surgeon Aigner Leonhard, who bought the building in 1718. His name can be associated with the Baroque part of the building, that is, the façade facing Fő Street. By the way, only a little is known about the construction, as the subsequent neoclassical rebuilding almost completely erased its traces.
After the baroque expansion, they did not care too much about the bath. The bath, which is no longer in very good condition, became the property of the König family at the very end of the 18th century, to whom it owes not only the neoclassical reconstruction and parts of the building, but also got its present name from them: the population soon began to call it Königsbad, that is, the King's Bath.
He already had the financial background to commission the Austrian master builder Mathias Schmidt to rebuild and expand it. The exact time of the works is unknown, but they probably took place between 1827 and 1837.
It was then that the Baroque wing was remodeled and expanded with additional neoclassical building space.
Source: https://bparchiv.hu/
In World War 2, although the neoclassical parts of the building were damaged by several bomb hits, the Turkish-era pool hall miraculously suffered only minor damage.
Prior to the restoration work, excavations were carried out in the area of the spa, during which more valuable finds were unearthed: in the courtyard of the bath, for example, they managed to find a completely intact section of the Roman war road next to the many rubble from the Turkish era. In 1953-56 the domes, and in 1957-59 the rest of the building were renewed according to the plans of Egon Pfannl.
Then:
Source: https://bparchiv.hu/
And several years ago:
During the last decade I read about plenty plans, how and when they will renovate it. A picture below about the last one what I've found, of course it is on hold. No money, no honey situation,because of the last 2 years. Officially, it should have been ready by 2023. That's just not gonna happen. On the other side, i am sure, it will be an other great bath.
Source: http://epiteszforum.hu/
The pools
It's a much smaller bath than the previous ones, it has only 4 pools, 3 out of the 4 are very small, 6-10 square meters watersurface. All pools are indoor, howerer there is a nice garden behind the main building. There were some outside small wooden tubs. All pools are different temperature, between 26 and 40 ℃.
Personal opinion
I was visited it few times in a year, when I was young. For example, it was a perfect place for relaxing few hours during Sziget Festival. Not so far and it never was a real tourist place because it's location and condition. How the locals say: "The good old" socialism stayed in the air... :)
Similarly, like Rudas Baths, this one includes different ages, styles. All 3 part of the building are different, but here the Turkish bath is the main attraction. I didn't want to miss it out, especially becasue this was the first BP bath I've visited, it gave the idea visiting the rest, better ones and even in this condition, I like it, brings back, connects to good memories. The Király Baths paint more realistic picture about the real Budapest, outside the popular "tourist zone".
Veli Bej Bath
The other Turkish Bath, located in the same district, that has 5 pools, it makes the largest Turkish Baths in Budapest. The renovation's finished few years ago. I've never been there, but it is an other thermal and Turkish bath, it shows how the Király Baths could look inside, after the re-construction.
Source: https://termalfurdok.com/veli-bej-furdo/
The images, under which I did not cite a source, were taken by me. (It isn't a quote, just trying out all the functions in the editor.😀)
Sources:
Csaba Meskó: Thermal Baths, Budapest, 1998
Peter Meleghy: Spas of Budapest, Corvina, 2012