Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BATHHOUSE BACKGROUND
Even though the sulphurous content of Budapest's waters mean that they don't always
smell very pleasant, their therapeutic qualities have long been exploited. The earliest re-
mains of baths here date back to the Bronze Age, and a succession of invaders have since
capitalized on the benefits of the healthy waters. The
Romans
, who appreciated a good
bath, set up camp along the banks of the Danube - you can see the ruins of their bathhouses
in Óbuda. After their arrival from the east, the
Hungariantribes
also recognized the value
ofthethermal springs,astestified bytheremnants ofahospital bathhousefrom1178found
near the Lukács.
During their occupation, the
Ottomans
played a vital role in the development of Bud-
apest's baths - the precept, under Islamic law, for washing five times a day before prayers
is thought to have engendered a popular bathing culture here. The oldest baths that survive
today are the Turkish baths on the Buda side of the river: built in the late sixteenth century,
the Király and the Rudas baths have preserved their original layout, with a central bathing
pool surrounded by smaller pools that lie below the old Turkish cupolas.
The next
golden age of bathing
occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen-
turies,asafashionforspassweptacrossEurope.Budapest'sexistingbathsweredressedup
in a new magnificence, and splendid buildings such as the neo-Baroque Széchenyi Baths
in the Városliget and the Art Nouveau Gellért Baths were erected. During the
Communist
era
, the baths were as popular as ever - a place to meet and gossip in the murky mists - but
they suffered prolonged neglect. In recent years, however, major investments have seen the
buildings restored and their facilities upgraded by way of new features such as whirlpools
- Budapest's baths are now far more salubrious places to visit. And it's not just people who
have benefited from the thermal waters. The success of the hippopotamus-breeding pro-
gramme at Budapest Zoo is thought to be partly due to the constant supply of hot water
from the Széchenyi Baths across the road - the hippos clearly benefit from wallowing in
lovely thermal pools. The hot springs also saved them during the bitter winter siege of the
city in 1944-45, when most of the zoo's other animals died in the freezing temperatures.
A ROUGH GUIDE TO BATHING
Tickets
A standard ticket purchased from the ticket office (
pénztár
) gets you into the pools
as well as the sauna and steam rooms; you'll often have the choice between changing in a
communal room and using a locker (
szekrény
), or a slightly more expensive cubicle (
kabin
) -
the latter gives you more privacy and, in the mixed-sex baths, this allows couples to change
together. At the
pénztár
you also pay for any other treatments, such as massages and pedi-
cures that you want during your visit.
