2019.09.11 - Top four reasons why foreigners like Gellért Bath

Top four reasons why foreigners like Gellért Bath

If someone visits Gellért Bath on the weekend they can’t hear any Hungarian words: the bath is full of foreigners, who express their admiration with loud enthusiasm, or silent devotion. What is the secret behind the popularity? Why does visiting worth it for both foreigners and Hungarians?

The secret of the bath is hard to solve. Naturally, we think of practical reasons at first, but humans are not only rational beings, so we don’t only go to baths because it’s practical. The subjective, hard-to-explain factors may play a more important role in rating the experience afterward. 

The Past 

Gellért Bath has almost the longest historical past. A bath existed even back in the Middle Ages at this location named Sárosfürdő. The present building was built in 1918. The first international balneological conference was organized here, this is why the bath became the seat of the International Balneological Meeting. This fact itself gives it rank, and no matter what happens after that, this rank grants an extraordinary place among the baths of the whole world. The eventful past doesn’t mean that the bath can’t adapt since it has been broadened and renovated in the last 100 years, moreover, a part of it had to be rebuilt because of the suffered damage during the two world wars. Despite this visitors can experience the vibe of the early 1900s with the help of the Art Nouveau-style parts. 

The Location

There’s no other metropolis that has as many heat sources as Budapest. This relation can also be reversed: not a lot of thermal baths are located in the heart of a metropolis. Whoever has a bath in the outside pool of Gellért Bath can admire a beautiful view which is especially imposing at night: the Statue of Liberty at the top of Gellért Hill and the amazing vintage buildings of Budapest. You can acquire the best experience when the bath is not crowded but you shouldn’t be insatiable, you can’t monopolize this amazing view. If you want to meet fewer people you should visit the bath during workdays outside the tourism period (if that even exists in Budapest). 

Healing 

Let’s not forget that Gellért Bath is also a thermal bath so it has healing pools with thermal water. The source of the water comes from the inside of Gellért Hill. The water of these heat sources contains sodium and fluoride ions besides magnesium or calcium hydrogen carbonate and sulfate and chlorine. The consistency of thermal waters is useful against joint problems, degenerative illnesses, circulatory disorders, spine, and intervertebral disc problems, vasoconstriction, and neuralgia. In the inhaling room, you can treat chronic bronchitis and asthma. So the water has many healing effects, but the popularity of the place does not circle around only this, since healing water worth way less without the right medical advising which is continuously available in the Gellért Bath. 

Innovation 

The bath can’t rely only on the past: it is constantly in need of new ideas to keep its position. This is especially true if we talk about the whole globe. An innovative point of view was always peculiar to Gellért Bath. For example, think of the wave pool which was built in 1927 and was one of the first wave pools in the whole European area. The bath still has that innovative attitude: the available massage treatments renew every two years. The most exciting ones from the newest treatments are the ones that focus on the natural treasures of Hungary such as the herbal treatment from Mátra, the healing mud treatment from Kolop and the Hungarian wine treatment. The first concentrates on the herbs of Hungary which are used in a warm pillow especially for back problems. The mud from Kolop which they get from the Tisza is used mixed with mineral water. The healing effect of the mud comes from mineral water and the mud’s capability of healing by releasing heat slowly causing plethora and relaxing muscles. The most interesting one is the wine treatment which relies on the rejuvenating effect of grapes. Our body ages partly because of the oxidative substances which can be repelled by antioxidants which can be found in grapes. Antioxidants are helpful against inflammations and allergic reactions.