Sunday 5 February 2023

The Great Spa Towns of Europe

This site comprises 11 towns in 7 countries. So far, I have 7 towns of 7 countries


Baden bei Wien

This postcard was sent by Sabine

Baden (German for "Baths"; Central BavarianBodn), unofficially distinguished from other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria.
The celebrity of Baden dates back to the days of the Romans, who knew it by the name of Aquae Cetiae or Thermae Pannonicae. Some ruins are still visible.
By the time of the First World War, Baden was Vienna's principal resort: 20 000 came each year, double the town's local population. In addition to a modern "spa house" (Kurhaus), there were 15 separate bathing establishments and several parks. - in: wikipedia

Spa
This postcard was sent by Javier

Spa is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of LiègeBelgium.
Its name is the origin of the word spa. The town of Spa is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountains 35 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of the city of Liège and 45 kilometres (28 miles) southwest of Aachen
Spa is one of Belgium's most popular tourist destinations, being renowned for its natural mineral springs and production of "Spamineral water, which is exported worldwide. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, just south of the nearby village of Francorchamps, also hosts the annual Belgian Grand Prix. - in: wikipedia


Mariánské Lázně Colonnade
This postcard was sent by Emerich

Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses. Most of its buildings come from the town's Golden Era in the second half of the 19th century, when many celebrities and top European rulers came to enjoy the curative carbon dioxide springs.
The top attraction of the town is its 100 mineral springs (53 of them are tapped) with high carbon dioxide content and often also higher iron content, both in the town itself (40 springs) and its surroundings. The mineral water is used to cure disorders of the kidneys and of the urinary tract, respiratory disorders, locomotive system disorders, metabolic disorders, oncological disorders and gynaecological disorders, including the treatment of sterility.
Most of them are well-kept and often pavilions and/or colonnades are built around them.  - in: wikipedia


Vichy - Chalet des Roses
This postcard was sent by Nadia

Vichy is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944. The term Vichyste indicated collaboration with the Vichy regime, often carrying a pejorative connotation.
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné was a patient in 1676 and 1677 and would popularize Vichy's Thermal Baths through the written descriptions in her letters. The Vichy waters were said to have cured the paralysis in her hands, thus enabling her to take up letter-writing. In 1761 and 1762, Adélaïde and Victoire of France, the daughters of Louis XV, came to Vichy for the first time and returned in 1785. The bath facilities seemed extremely uncomfortable to them because of the muddy surroundings and insufficient access. When they returned to Versailles, they asked their nephew Louis XVI to build roomier and more luxurious thermal baths, which were subsequently completed in 1787.
By the 19th century Vichy was a station à la mode, attended by many celebrities. However, it was the stays of Napoleon III between 1861 and 1866 that were to cause the most profound transformation of the city: dikes were built along the Allier, 13 hectares (32 acres) of landscaped gardens replaced the old marshes and, along the newly laid-out boulevards and the streets, chalets and pavilions were built for the Emperor and his court. - in: wikipedia



Baden-Baden
This postcard was sent by Svenja

Baden-Baden is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, and forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) north-east of Strasbourg, France. - in: wikipedia


Montecatini Terme - Torreta Terme
This postcard was sent from Portugal by Martinha

Montecatini Terme is an Italian municipality (comune) of c. 20,000 inhabitants in the province of PistoiaTuscany, central Italy. It is the most important center in Valdinievole. The town is located at the eastern end of Piana di Lucca and has a strong vocation for tourism, as well as industrial and commercial industries related to the spa, which in turn has increased the interest for hotel accommodation in the region.
Terme Torretta (1928) takes its name from the river Toretta that flows through it. Built after 1829 by Count Baldino Baldini, the buildings underwent an important restoration operation between 1925 and 1928. - in: wikipedia


Bath - Roman Baths
This postcard was sent by Miguel

The Roman Baths are a well-preserved thermae in the city of Bath, Somerset, England. A temple was constructed on the site between 60-70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. Its presence led to the development of the small Roman urban settlement known as Aquae Sulis around the site. The Roman baths—designed for public bathing—were used until the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th Century CE. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the original Roman baths were in ruins a century later. The area around the natural springs was redeveloped several times during the Early and Late Middle Ages. - in: wikipedia

The 11 Spa Towns (in red what I have):

  • Baden Bei Wien, Austria
  • Spa, Belgium
  • Františkovy Lázně, Czech Republic
  • Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
  • Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic
  • Vichy, France
  • Bad Ems, Germany
  • Baden-Baden, Germany
  • Bad Kissingen, Germany
  • Montecatini Terme, Italy
  • Bath, United Kingdom


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