Event: Hungary - Budapest

Budapest Spas

When:	Daily
Where:	Budapest

In a city with more than 100 thermal springs and fountains, it's easy to wash your stress away. Budapest Spas, including the beautiful Király Baths, stretching back to Budapest's 16th-century Turkish period, range from open-air to night baths.

The waters at Király are known for their calcium- hydrogen- magnesium- carbonate, while the hotter springs contain fluoride, sulphur and chloride. These minerals are thought to relieve a variety of ailments. Other popular Budapest Spas are Rudas Baths, which were built in the 16th century by Pasha of Buda Sokoli Mustapha and have operated virtually unchanged to this day.

The history of Budapest Spas has roots in Roman times. The Romans, always eager for a bathe (especially after a visit to a vomitorium), quickly learned how to take advantage of the Hungarian waters. It was Tiberius Nero, stepson of Emperor Augustus, who first founded a Roman town (Aquincum) by the springs of the Buda Mountains. When the Romans left, others followed in their wake - Frederick Barbarossa and Edward VIII to name just two. Fortunately the Turks liked to bathe too, and when Budapest became a part of their Empire the spa culture continued to flourish.

For information on individual spas, please visit the Budapest Spas and Hot Springs website.