Fürdők – Fürdőhelyek, Magyarország fürdői (Budapest, 2008)

each course but they could sit down and talk. They had the opportunity to use the billiard saloon, the card game room, the library and they could read newspapers if they wanted. Usually there was also a coffee-house in the building, though it wasn't for free. The owners of the bath place did not forget to ensure entertainment for the visitors as the bigger places had theaters, like in Karsbad where there had been an acting group since 1788. The first permanent theater, made of stone, was opened in Balatonfüred by the initiation of Sándor Kisfaludy in 1831 and well-known actors and actresses of the century played on its stage. Little acting groups, who usually circled between smaller bath places, were also known in this period. The bandstand was also a noticeable accessory in the bath places where the visitors could listen to classical, waltz and gipsy music in live, as well as famous march songs in the morning and in the afternoon. To entertain their guests even more, the directories of the places organized balls quite often, where even the gallants of the neighborhood were invited. The most popular ball of the season was called the Anna ball, which was held either on the 20th of July or on the previous weekend. It was known that the balls, held on the 18th or 19th of August, were the sign of the end of each season. Emperor Franz Joseph I. celebrated his birthday on 1 8th of August, which was known as a holiday in the Austrian part of the Monarchy but in the Hungarian part, the 20th of August was held as a national holiday of Saint Stephen I. Several balls and ceremonies were presented both of these holidays. Card games, billiard and bowling were beloved pastime in the bath places and with the spreading of the civil lifestyle tennis had also become popular. The first tennis court was built in 1881 in Budapest and then every high standard place built one for its own in the following years. Sailing had spread quickly on the Lake Balaton and it became a popular sport among wealthy people. From 1890, skiing as a winter sport became so popular that even Miklós Szontagh, a doctor of a medicinal bath, did that as one of the first in the latra Mountain, in Hungary in the year of 1892. The owners of the medicinal baths aimed to make their guests delighted and to ensure them everything they needed. One of these was the spiritual needs. We can hardly find a bath place where a little church or a tabernacle was not built. The guides of each bath places highlighted the place and time when the guests could seek for spiritual relief or could pray to strengthen their faith. SPA SOUVENIRS Stores, market places, gift pavilions and little shops could be found in the medicinal baths where the guests bought their daily products and fancy gifts. Glasses, used during the curing courses got into the market as gifts in the end of the 13th century, in Western- Europe. These were usually made of glass but sometimes they were made of porcelain. The glasses were first colored, then painted and finally decorated with etchwork.