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Water and Wellness
A look back in history
The Austrian bathing tradition can already be traced back to Roman times. In the 16th century Bad Gastein and Baden near Vienna established themselves as health resorts with active bathing enterprises. The first description of a tourist trip to Baden dates back to the year 1514.
The healing power of salt water baths was discovered at the beginning of the 18th century in the Salzkammergut such as in Bad Ischl and Bad Gastein. Bad Ischl, the oldest salt water bath of Austria, became the fashionable bath resort of aristocrats and important artists after emperors spent curative stays there; Emperor Franz Joseph I spent every summer in Bad Ischl from1848 to 1914.
The 19th century
The modern spa holiday, having begun in the 18th century and developed into a tourist standard product in the 19th century, combines several requirements: along with the wish for health and well-being, from the very start factors such as entertainment, sociability and the prospect of making interesting contacts came into play.
The curative stay in Ischl followed a precisely fixed schedule: taking walks before breakfast were recommended. The morning was reserved for doing the necessary shopping and for strolls on the Esplanade; afterwards the Cafe Zauner was stormed! Then followed other distractions here and there before returning to the hotel, eating lunch, taking a nap, reading the newspaper and taking off for the afternoon ‘escapade’.
The Styrian Bad Gleichenberg, too, blossomed under Emperor Franz Joseph I.; however, the foundation stone of the "Spa Resort Gleichenberg " was laid already in 1834 by Mathias Constantin Capello Graf von Wickenburg. In 1926, finally, the adjective "Bad" (bath) was added to the "Spa Resort".
Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Burgenland has equally played an important role as a medicinal bath since as early as 1820, as well the springs in Sauerbrunn which have been used since 1847 for healing purposes.
The first guests arrived at the Carinthian Bad Kleinkirchheim for curative stays at the end of the 19th century. Today the springs containing radon supply two spa facilities: the Roman bath at the foot of the Kaiserburg, the most famous ski slope of Bad Kleinkirchheim, and the Kathrein-Therme in which medical applications are highlighted.
Recent discoveries at the beginning of the 20th century
The Upper Austrian Bad Schallerbach, whose sulphur thermal spring was discovered in 1918, has carried the designation ‘health resort’ since 1946. The thermal spa in Bad Bleiberg in Carinthia has been known since 1931. Here, not only the water, but also the mountain out of which it springs, have healing powers: today the uniquely constant microclimate in the curative climate regions serves for the treatment of chronical respiratory illnesses.
Wellness boom at the threshold of the 21st century
The well-kept historic baths with imperial atmosphere were supplemented with architecturally interesting new thermal facilities. What began with thermal spas and wellness oases, today has become a broad range of attractive health-oriented tourist offers.
Bad Radkersburg in the south of Styria can look back on a 700-year-old bath culture. In the course of the years the Parktherme developed into a 1000 square meter adventure bathing landscape with numerous attractions.
During a mineral oil drilling at 1100-m depth in the Styrian Bad Loipersdorf in 1972, one hit on a 62-degree hot spring of high mineral content whose potential healing properties were quickly recognized. The medicinal bath that developed shortly thereafter is today considered the biggest spa landscape of Europe.
In Bad Waltersdorf one discovered 62-degree hot springs with medicinal thermal water. The medicinal thermal bath went into operation in December 1984. In total,
the bath was renovated and further developed five times until 2001.
"Different from the other… " – thus distinguishes itself the Rogner Bad Blumau, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and inaugurated in 1997. This unique bath presents itself as an extensive hotel, thermal bath, sauna and leisure facility and disposes of an integrated health centre that leads in all of Europe.
The Stegersbach Therme offers fun & action for young and old with slides, a diving platform, and a whitewater canal. For those in search of peace and relaxation there are sauna baths, a Turkish steam bath, and a whirlpool. The thermal water in Stegersbach is particularly rich in sodium, hydrogen carbonate and sulphur and, therefore, is particularly suitable for the treatment of Neurodermatitis and Psoriasis.
Among others, the solar thermal bath Lutzmannsburg-Frankenau also belongs to the "World of Spas Burgenland ". It was put into operation in 1994 and already had to be extended. Under the motto "X-Small" baby swimming from three months of age – here the spotlight is on children’s offers.
The Austrian bathing tradition can already be traced back to Roman times. In the 16th century Bad Gastein and Baden near Vienna established themselves as health resorts with active bathing enterprises. The first description of a tourist trip to Baden dates back to the year 1514.
The healing power of salt water baths was discovered at the beginning of the 18th century in the Salzkammergut such as in Bad Ischl and Bad Gastein. Bad Ischl, the oldest salt water bath of Austria, became the fashionable bath resort of aristocrats and important artists after emperors spent curative stays there; Emperor Franz Joseph I spent every summer in Bad Ischl from1848 to 1914.
The 19th century
The modern spa holiday, having begun in the 18th century and developed into a tourist standard product in the 19th century, combines several requirements: along with the wish for health and well-being, from the very start factors such as entertainment, sociability and the prospect of making interesting contacts came into play.
The curative stay in Ischl followed a precisely fixed schedule: taking walks before breakfast were recommended. The morning was reserved for doing the necessary shopping and for strolls on the Esplanade; afterwards the Cafe Zauner was stormed! Then followed other distractions here and there before returning to the hotel, eating lunch, taking a nap, reading the newspaper and taking off for the afternoon ‘escapade’.
The Styrian Bad Gleichenberg, too, blossomed under Emperor Franz Joseph I.; however, the foundation stone of the "Spa Resort Gleichenberg " was laid already in 1834 by Mathias Constantin Capello Graf von Wickenburg. In 1926, finally, the adjective "Bad" (bath) was added to the "Spa Resort".
Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Burgenland has equally played an important role as a medicinal bath since as early as 1820, as well the springs in Sauerbrunn which have been used since 1847 for healing purposes.
The first guests arrived at the Carinthian Bad Kleinkirchheim for curative stays at the end of the 19th century. Today the springs containing radon supply two spa facilities: the Roman bath at the foot of the Kaiserburg, the most famous ski slope of Bad Kleinkirchheim, and the Kathrein-Therme in which medical applications are highlighted.
Recent discoveries at the beginning of the 20th century
The Upper Austrian Bad Schallerbach, whose sulphur thermal spring was discovered in 1918, has carried the designation ‘health resort’ since 1946. The thermal spa in Bad Bleiberg in Carinthia has been known since 1931. Here, not only the water, but also the mountain out of which it springs, have healing powers: today the uniquely constant microclimate in the curative climate regions serves for the treatment of chronical respiratory illnesses.
Wellness boom at the threshold of the 21st century
The well-kept historic baths with imperial atmosphere were supplemented with architecturally interesting new thermal facilities. What began with thermal spas and wellness oases, today has become a broad range of attractive health-oriented tourist offers.
Bad Radkersburg in the south of Styria can look back on a 700-year-old bath culture. In the course of the years the Parktherme developed into a 1000 square meter adventure bathing landscape with numerous attractions.
During a mineral oil drilling at 1100-m depth in the Styrian Bad Loipersdorf in 1972, one hit on a 62-degree hot spring of high mineral content whose potential healing properties were quickly recognized. The medicinal bath that developed shortly thereafter is today considered the biggest spa landscape of Europe.
In Bad Waltersdorf one discovered 62-degree hot springs with medicinal thermal water. The medicinal thermal bath went into operation in December 1984. In total,
the bath was renovated and further developed five times until 2001.
"Different from the other… " – thus distinguishes itself the Rogner Bad Blumau, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and inaugurated in 1997. This unique bath presents itself as an extensive hotel, thermal bath, sauna and leisure facility and disposes of an integrated health centre that leads in all of Europe.
The Stegersbach Therme offers fun & action for young and old with slides, a diving platform, and a whitewater canal. For those in search of peace and relaxation there are sauna baths, a Turkish steam bath, and a whirlpool. The thermal water in Stegersbach is particularly rich in sodium, hydrogen carbonate and sulphur and, therefore, is particularly suitable for the treatment of Neurodermatitis and Psoriasis.
Among others, the solar thermal bath Lutzmannsburg-Frankenau also belongs to the "World of Spas Burgenland ". It was put into operation in 1994 and already had to be extended. Under the motto "X-Small" baby swimming from three months of age – here the spotlight is on children’s offers.
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