As the old saying has it: drill a well anywhere in Hungary and sooner or later you find thermal water. That this is not only legend is proved by geologists, since maps show that thermal waters warmer than 30ºC can be found underneath 80 per cent of the country. Hungary ranks an extremely honourable second after Iceland.

The formation of spa waters is relatively simple. Water coming from the depths towards the surface permeates rocks of various composition and extracts the minerals. This becomes medicinal water. Our body absorbs the dissolved components through the skin and when bathing we also inhale these substances in steam. In addition to the chemical features of the water we also make use of its physical characteristics, since its temperature and current both relax and cure our tired limbs. In order to perk up we should look for a so-called cool bath of 15-20º°C. Our nervous system is calmed by 21- 31ºC water, while hotter than that will expand the blood vessels and accelerate the function of the heart. Hence we are advised to spend only a short time in such water and even then we must avoid doing it on a full stomach or when we are exhausted, since it can easily cause sickness. (Children are advised against going into these hot waters.) We are inclined to connect spa waters with ailments, yet a healthy person can also enjoy their benefit. On the one hand they help prevent diseases and on the other they improve our well-being, relax and calm us. It is a great feeling when, after an exhausting day, we can stretch out in the bath tub. No need to go into detail how much a pool full of spa water can make us feel relaxed. This is what is called wellness, but only the word is new. The experience reaches back thousands of years. For example, 2000 years ago Roman soldiers stationed in Hungary well knew what a welcome feeling it is to console tired bodies in baths. They practised it with joy as did, of course, not only soldiers but all sections of Roman society including both the poor and the wealthy. (According to estimates, 300 litres of water per head could be used in the heyday of ancient Rome! No wonder the Romans constructed water pipes which are remarkable even today.) The capital of Pannonia, Aquincum (in today's Budapest), was definitely one of the pearls of the Roman Empire, at least from the point of view of spas.

Many hundreds of years later the Turks arrived in the territory of Hungary and although during their 150 years of domination antipathy natural towards conquerors surrounded them, it must be acknowledged that they contributed a great deal to the country's bathing culture. They built impressive spas, which can still be seen and even experienced in the Hungarian capital. When the Turks were driven out the baths began to deteriorate. For a long time Christianity denied the curing properties of spas, but the main problem concerned rather the moral dangers of common bathing. (Saint Jerome, for example, allowed bathing only for children.) With some reason baths were considered a hotbed of lust, which had to be confined. However, this could only be maintained for a while since common sense and people's healthy attitude to life won through such that today bathing culture is a form of well-deserved luxury.

In the 17th century a certain Mr Brown, a British physician, wrote: "The naturally hot spas in Buda are considered the most significant in the world." It is not easy to list precisely how many types of waters can cure us. Medicinal waters can be hydrocarbonic, they can contain alkalis, cobalt and sodium-chloride, as well as sulphur and iron. They can even be radioactive. They all cure different ailments. Apart from the waters being used for bathing some can be inhaled or taken as a drinking cure. (When tasting it is sometimes difficult to imagine that they can really help, but they are said not to be too horrid if we take small sips while walking.) To complete the picture: thermal waters can not only work wonders themselves but their mud can treat and cure various illnesses.

The Hévíz lake, which the Finnish poet recalled so enthusiastically, is undeniably the most popular and prominent spa in Hungary, "the lake of superlatives". With reason. The 4.5 hectare lake is Europe's largest natural thermal lake of volcanic origin, which is fed by several thousand year old karstic springs and is also the world's largest biologically active spa. It is 38 metres at its deepest, but even those who cannot swim can easily bathe, since it is shallow at the shores and is also excellent for chilling out. The water is a real godsend for people suffering from rheumatism since, due to its sulphuric content, it alleviates and cures pain. The spa is busy not only in the summer - the pleasant water of the lake warms you if the weather is a bit chilly. It is an incomparable feeling to move around in the water or simply float in the haze swelling above the water. The Hévíz lake is also noted for its masses of water lilies flowering throughout the year. They bloom in pink, white and lilac and the spectacle itself calms us as we comfortably drift among them on giant floats. Needless to say, the rule is: look but don't touch.

Although Hévíz is 180 kilometres from Budapest, it is easily reached since the Sármellék Airport is only a few minutes away. In addition to the Swiss, German and Russian charter flights, both small and large planes can also land. In Hévíz wellness hotels aim to provide exactly what people at present lack most: calm, a stress-free environment and mainly a bit of pampering. A real wellness weekend involves more than simply sitting in lukewarm water for three days. In fact, it would be difficult to find a service which these hotels do not offer. Besides thermal pools, there are different kinds of massage, sauna and steam bath and several other services whose names are not even easy to remember. Treatment and relaxation make use of the composition of the water, its current and temperature, while there are supplements such as ultrasound or electric current (naturally only at an appropriate strength) or ultraviolet and infra-red applications. Thus wellness does its utmost for us to feel good and it affects all our senses so that this feeling would be absolute. Light therapy, sound massage, inhalation of vapours, drinking cures, dozens of different massages, mud baths, steam baths and aromatherapy all serve a single purpose - when we depart for home to feel we have chilled out, become beautiful and perhaps even better people.

Consider the advice of Hungarian writer Sándor Márai who wrote the following in the last century: "Whenever you can, but never so that you are stealing time from work and acting in a hurry with bad conscience, go to one of the thermal water public baths twice or three times a week. Bathing is a very old human custom, which trains and refreshes not only the body but also the mind. Take your time, bathe according to the laws of your own body, in a considerate way and leisurely. Medicinal waters permeate your limbs and enliven your soul, calm your nerves tortured by work and the world. Spas are like wet monasteries where undisturbed you can give over your body and mind to sober and deserved rest. Sulphuric and ferriferous waters affect our internal organs and nervous system via the pores of the skin; the atmosphere of the baths, the vaporous-steamy environment frees you from the cheap images of the outside world."

The thermal water of Hévíz

The lake of Hévíz has alkaline hydrocarbonic thermal water, which is medicinal due especially to its sulphuric and mildly radioactive composition. It is extremely effective in treating locomotor disorders and as part of post-operative rheumatological, orthopaedic and motor rehabilitation. It also achieves excellent results in treating chronic gynaecological and dermatological complaints. In addition to its spring, which has a temperature of 39 °C, the lake is fed by several thermal karstic waters. The temperature of the water surface is 33-34 °C. When bathing in the thermal water the lake also operates as a huge inhalator. Besides the chemical composition, the physiological effect of moving in a vertical posture is beneficial and the increased reflection of ultraviolet rays enhances the treatment. Peat mud at the bottom of the lake reaches a thickness of several metres. This concentrates the water's active agents and possesses special curing features. However, watch out - he who tastes everything tires of much. It is recommended that no one stay in the water for longer than one hour at any time.

Anna Nagy