{"id":318411,"date":"2018-08-03T05:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-08-03T04:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funzine.hu\/?p=318411"},"modified":"2018-07-26T10:49:41","modified_gmt":"2018-07-26T09:49:41","slug":"budapest-uncovered-historic-baths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funzine.hu\/en\/2018\/08\/03\/culture\/budapest-uncovered-historic-baths\/","title":{"rendered":"Budapest Uncovered: Historic Baths"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city\u2019s long history, its unique mixture of architecture styles spanning two millennia, and the abundance of bubbly thermal springs have naturally led to Budapest becoming the European capital city of bathing culture. In this month\u2019s Budapest Uncovered, we\u2019ll walk you through the most magnificent pieces of the Magyar metropolis\u2019 aquatic history.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thermae Maiores<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By the 3rd century, Aquincum founded in AD 89 has become one of the most important Roman settlements this side of the Alps. With a population of over 60,000 people, two amphitheatres, and a huge garrison to keep the eastern borders of the empire safe from the barbarian hordes, the city gave home to a number of private and public baths – the largest of which is found in the centre of what was once Aquincum\u2019s military district.<\/p>\n

Located under the overpass connecting Szentendrei \u00fat to \u00c1rp\u00e1d bridge, this sprawling bathing complex was used by Roman legionaries between the 2nd and 4th centuries, before it was turned into a lavish palace, then completely abandoned in the 5th century. Although the first excavations of the site were carried out in 1778, it was unearthed only in the 1980s. Ever since it has been open to visitors with its maze of pools, changing rooms, gyms and sweat chambers. Entry is free, and because its existence is one of the best-kept secrets of Budapest, you\u2019ll have plenty of time to enjoy the ruinous beauty of the place before someone else shows up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kir\u00e1ly Baths<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After the Romans the Huns came, then the Avars, followed by the Slavs, and in the 9th century us, the Hungarians. The Ottoman Turks arrived a couple of hundreds of years later: during the 145 years that passed after their successful siege of Buda in 1541 until the city\u2019s liberation, the Turks have refurbished all of the city\u2019s churches into mosques, while many of its lavish palaces took on a new life as armories or stalls. The only benefit of the occupation was the appearance of Turkish baths, of which Kir\u00e1ly is the oldest. One of the finest pieces of Ottoman architecture in Hungary, the construction of Kir\u00e1ly Baths was begun by Arslan, the governor of Buda in 1565, and completed in 1570 by his successor, Pasha Sokoli Mustapha. It is the only one of the four remaining Turkish baths in Budapest to be found within the borders of the former city walls: this way, the high-ranking officials could bathe undisturbed even during the oft-occurring skirmishes between the Turkish and the Habsburg armies. More than a hundred years after the end of Ottoman occupation, the baths were bought by the wealthy K\u00f6nig family, who kept the original building and added a green-coloured neoclassical wing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Luk\u00e1cs Baths<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fed by the waters of the nearby Moln\u00e1r J\u00e1nos spring, Luk\u00e1cs Baths is an enormous spa, located in a Habsburg-yellow neo-Baroque building close to Margit bridge, featuring countless pools, a sauna world, and massage rooms. The curative power of the baths\u2019 thermal water was already known in the 12th century, when the Knights Hospitallers built a bathhouse and a small hospital on the site. Later on, in the 16th century, the Ottomans used the constantly flowing hot spring to power their powder mill, whose remains can still be seen inside building. The original building\u2019s Moorish decorations and four towers have vanished without a trace. Construction works on the present-day spa started in 1854, while the first health hotel was finished in the 1880s, intended for therapeutic use. The Luk\u00e1cs Baths acquired its present form in 1921, based on the plans of Rezs\u0151 Hikisch.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gell\u00e9rt Baths<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The history of Gell\u00e9rt Baths starts in the 13th century, when King Andrew II established a hospital at the southern foot of Gell\u00e9rt hill. Subsequently, it came into Ottoman possession, who called it \u201cMuddy Bath\u201d. The name stuck, and survived into the latter half of the 19th century. By then, the thermal bath became a popular destination among the people of Buda and Pest, as well as nearby villagers. The small, barn-like building of the bath was eventually torn down in 1894, during the construction works of Szabads\u00e1g bridge. The lavish Gell\u00e9rt Baths were designed by Art\u00far Sebesty\u00e9n, \u00c1rmin Heged\u0171s and Izidor Sterk, as part of the larger Gell\u00e9rt Hotel: when opened in 1918, it was one of the world\u2019s most modern hotel buildings, and is certainly the most exquisite piece of architecture from Budapest\u2019s Belle \u00c9poque period. The Art Nouveau Gell\u00e9rt Baths feature a colonnaded and glass-roofed indoor pool, lots of Zsolnay ceramic tiles, stained-glass windows from the legendary Miksa R\u00f3th, and statue extravaganza.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ll walk you through the most magnificent pieces of the Magyar metropolis\u2019 aquatic history.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":318415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1255],"tags":[10993,10992,10991],"post_places":[],"class_list":["post-318411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-bathing","tag-natural-waters","tag-thermal-baths"],"acf":{"connected_places":null,"del_image":""},"yoast_head":"\nBudapest Uncovered: Historic Baths<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this month\u2019s Budapest Uncovered, we\u2019ll walk you through the most magnificent pieces of the Magyar metropolis\u2019 aquatic history.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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