Fraternity-Testvériség, 2009 (87. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2009-01-01 / 1. szám
FEATURE ARTICLE the second 50-60 degrees (122-140 F) and the third was so hot, she couldn’t open the door. B. The Rudas Baths in Buda, are noted for St. Elizabeth of Hungary who reportedly cured lepers using the local springs. The Knights of St. John founded a hospice there in the Middle Ages as well, and the Turks built an octagonal pool there in 1566. In the 19th century, it was enlarged to include a steam bath, therapeutic pools and a swimming pool to which a sunbathing terrace and a hotel was added at the beginning of the 20th century. Eight pillars surround an octagonal pool which is lighted by star-shaped openings in its dome and is circled by an arcade with five smaller pools, but most of the facility has been restricted to men since 1936. However, women may use the swimming pool, called “uszoda,” rather than the “gyógyfürdő,” which is a thermal pool where one does not swim. The swimming pool, built in 1918, is so large that about 30 people can swim laps simultaneously. The composition of the water is similar to that of the other baths built on the springs of the thermal line under Buda so it contains calcium, magnesium, hydro-carbonate, sodium and fluoride ions, but it is also moderately radioactive. The temperature of the water varies between 16 and 42 Celsius and is said to heal stomach and gall disorders, physical and mental exhaustion, problems of the nervous system, asthma and catarrh. A drinking cure is also available at this bath which has been visited for nearly 500 years. C. The Széchenyi Baths, located at the end of Andrássy Road in Városliget (City Park) is one of the oldest thermal baths still in use in Pest. In 1868, a mining engineer, Vilmos Zsigmondy, started drilling in the City Park and ten years later, he found 74-degree Celsius thermal water, the hottest in Europe in those days. So on this artesian spring, which still works under Heroes’ Square, a bath was created in 1881 although it soon was obvious that there was a demand for more than just a small bath in the heart of Pest. Thus, architect Győző Czigler created the plans for the first wing of the Széchenyi Baths which took four years to build and was finally opened in 1913. The bath was gradually extended between the two World Wars and since 1938, another well has supplied 76 degree Celsius water for the pools from a depth of 1256 meters. The vast domed bathhouse looks like a Baroque Palace. It houses 15 pools of water that range between 20 and 38 degrees Celsius as well as saunas and steam-baths. An artesian well also provides 74-degree Celsius water from a depth of 970 meters. The three grand outdoor pools include one where jets propel the swimmer around in a slightly-out-of-control circle, a central one for swimming and a hot one where bathers can play chess on floating boards in the 16 SPRING 2009
