Bazna Bath

Bazna (Translyvanian Saxon: Baußen, Bassen; German: Baassen, Brassen, Oberbassen; Hungarian: Bázna, Felsőbajom, Bajom)) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Romania.

Bazna was mentioned for the first time in 1270, year in which the king Stephan the 3rd gave a domain to a nobleman, Bozouch son of Inok, from the Bazna village. Bazna was documentary attested in 1302. The German colonists established on the western side of the village, on the Rorii Valley, near Boian, and later, when they discovered the beauty of Bazna Valley, they moved here and built a village with an impressive fortified church in the center.


The discovery of the natural gases and of the salty springs with iodine drew the attention of the Transylvanian researchers from the 18th century. Rudolf Rothens, in Memorabilae Europae (1749), mentions Bazna by referring to the mineral waters which can be found in this locality. Salty water springs have been studied in 1752, for the first time, by the pharmacist Georg Bette from Sibiu, and then by others, too. The priest Andreas Caspari left a manuscript with his observations dating from 1762-1779. He described more therapeutic springs which he baptized “The Church Bath”, “The Beggars’ Bath”, and “The Sour Fountain”. In 1808 the government from Vienna sent a group of physicians and chemists in Bazna to study the curative effects of the salt and climate.


In 1814, the Evangelic-Lutheran Church took over the mineral lakes, deciding to build a spa, and in 1843 four citizens from Medias founded a company whose purpose was to build a resort in Bazna. Two years later, 637 patients were cured in Bazna. In 1905 the Evangelic community took over the resort and transformed it in a “pearl among the Transylvanian spas”. During the same year, people could find here a drugstore and a therapist. At the same time, people started to produce the famous salt of Bazna. From 1949, the Bazna Baths were administrated by the Ministry of Health, becoming a spa, with a permanent character.

Călimăneşti-Căciulata

Călimăneşti-Căciulata, often known just as Călimăneşti, is a town in the central-southern part of Romania (Vîlcea county), on the Olt River, in Jiblea - Călimăneşti Depression, at 260m altitude. It is situated on the traditional route connecting the region to Transylvania, and at the southern end of the Olt River valley crossing the Southern Carpathians, 18km N of the municipality of Rîmnicu-Vîlcea (seat of Vîlcea county). The climate is characteristic of the sheltered Sub-Carpathian hollows, without temperature contrasts, with cool summers (July average around 20°C) and rather mild winters (January average 1.5°C below); average annual temperature is 9.8°C, moderate precipitation (750-800 mm annually). The town is build along National Road 7 (DN7), the second most used road in Romania.


There are proofs that the mineral waters of Călimăneşti-Căciulata were used since the Roman times. The Romans built here fortifications and baths (Pons Vetus Castrum). Călimăneşti and Căciulata are documentary attested in 1388. Later, the monks from Cozia Monastery built here a place for treatment. Two great rulers of Wallachia, Mircea cel Batrân and Matei Basarab, came here to treat themselves. In the 17th century, was founded here a paper mill. The French doctor Joseph Caillat, who took temporary residence in Wallachia (1854), analyzed the Călimăneşti mineral waters in 1859, and in 1869 Napoleon III was on a cure of mineral water sent over from Călimăneşti. In 1893, the samples of mineral water from Călimăneşti-Căciulata won the gold medal at the International Foods and Mineral Waters Exhibition in Brussels. The first cure establishments are dated 1910. During the 20th century, many hotels and treatment facilities were built in Căciulata, a northern area of the town which is close to Cozia Monastery. The area around the town is full of fresh water springs and spa waters that are not in use.


Călimăneşti-Căciulata is known as a spa town, an all-season resort of national importance. The natural cure factors are the sparing climate and the springs (discovered in 1827) of sulphurous, chlorided, brominated, sodic, calcic, magnesian, mostly hypotonic mineral waters, with varying concentrations, chemical compositions and temperatures (mineralization between 0.5 and 11.5 g/l; athermal, mesothermal = 41°C, and hyperthermal = 49.5°C). The spa is recommended for the treatment of digestive diseases (chronic gastritis with hypoacidity, chronic constipation, chronic colitis), hepatobiliary diseases (biliary dyskinesis, non-calculous or calculous chronic cholecystitis, chronic hepatitis, chronic pancreatitis, conditions after operations of the liver), kidney and urinary system diseases (kidney lithiasis, chronic pyelonephritis, urinary infections), metabolic and nutrition disorders (diabetes mellitus, hyperuricemic condittions, obesity), respiratory diseases (bronchitis, chronic tracheobronchitis), peripheral neurological disorders (paresis, conditions after proliomyelitis), rheumatic conditions (spondylosis, arthrosis, polyarthrosis, tendonitis), post-traumatic conditions (after sprains, luxations, fractures), gynecological disorders (menopausal ovarian syndrome), ear, nose and throat diseases (chronic rhinosinusitis, chronic allergic laryngitis, etc.), dermatological, cardiovascular and other disorders.


The present-day facilities include modern installations for warm mineral-water baths in tubs and pools, for electrohydro-, and kinetotherapy, for aerosols and inhalations, outdoor pools with sulphurous thermal water (at Căciulata), mineral water fountains for internal cure, gyms, sauna, swimming pool on the bank of the Olt, etc. At Căciulata there are a sanatorium for children, specialized in the treatment of hepatitis sequels, and the country's only sanatorium for silicosis patients; at Calimanesti there is a clinic of the Bucharest Institute of Balneophysiotherapy and Medical Recovery, and a section of the specialized department of the Bucharest Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy. Bottling station for mineral waters. (internet infos compilation)

Herculane Baths

Băile Herculane, the Herculane Baths, is one of the well-known and beautiful balneo-climatic resorts in Romania and is one of the oldest spa resorts in the world. It is situated in the South-West of the country (Banat region), between the Cernei and Mehedinţi Mountains, in the fascinating valley of the Cerna River, surrounded by forests, at 19 km from Orşova and 41 km from Drobeta Turnu-Severin, at 160 m altitude.


The thermal and mineral waters of the Herculane Baths were first discovered and exploited by the soldiers of the Roman legions that conquest Dacia since 105 – 107 A.D.; the mineral springs from here were named “Thaermae Herculi” and were mentioned for the first time in a document in 153 A.D. The Romans called this area “Ad acquas Herculi Sacras” (the ‘Holy Water of Hercules’), due to the healing properties of the waters and this is were the actual name comes from.


There are numerous remains from the Roman times: aqueducts, baths, statues, coins and votive tabulas raised for the Gods as a sign of gratitude for healing diseases. The Roman patricians used to come to the resort, and the waters from here became known all over the Roman Empire. Even Emperor Marcus Aurelius himself came here for treatment! Throughout the years, numerous celebrities stopped at Băile Herculane, including Goethe, Andersen, Emperor Franz I and his wife, the Empress Charlotte, Archiduke Karl, Emperor Franz Josef and his wife, the Empress Sissi. In 1852, the Emperor considered Herculane Baths the most beautiful baths of the continent and the Empress, in her's diary, presented the spa as a marvelous and distinct place.


The climate specific to the mountainous depressions, with sub-Mediterranean influences, encouraged the proliferation of a very rich and varied vegetation, air rich in negative ions, and a special landscape, especially the numerous mineral springs rich in sulphur, sodium chloride, calcium, acid carbonate, calcium. All of these render the resort as an ideal place for relaxation and a site to remake holiday all year long. In the resort there are several hotels and villas, many among them having their own treatment centers with hydrotherapy, kinetotherapy and electrotherapy equipment. Diseases successfully treated here include rheumatic, gynecological, peripherical nervous system diseases, and diseases of the digestive system.


All sights worth seeing are grouped in the historic centre. The majority of the ancient Roman baths were destroyed during the Turkish and Austrian-Hungarian occupations, but a few have been preserved in the Roman Bath Museum inside teh Roman Hotel. One can actually feel the heat from the natural 54°C water running under the hotel. The resort’s central pavilion was built during the 1800s by the Habsburgs as a casino and restaurant. It's been converted to house a few shops and a small History Museum. There's a 200-year-old Wellingtonia Gigantea tree beside the steps leading up to the museum, famed for its enormous size. Across the river are the derelict Austrian baths. The Railway station was built in 1879 in neo-baroque style and the central body of the building with a majestic dome is decorated with representations of mythological characters including the legendary Hercules hero. The building was used as hunting house by Emperor Franz Joseph. Mt. Domogled (1100m) towers over Herculane Baths to the west, making for an excellent backdrop in Cerna Valley, where the resort lies. This forest reservation has been protected since 1932, housing rare trees, turtles and butterflies.