Băile Herculane

The hot springs here were used by the Romans, who left altars to Hercules, and the resort took its present shape in the nineteenth century when the Habsburgs built a spa town in the gorge: bath houses, a casino, hotels and colonnades in Austrian style, squeezed onto the narrow floor of the Cerna valley with forested cliffs above. It was among the most fashionable spas in the empire. The twentieth century added concrete sanatoria at the edges, and after 1990 the historic core fell into severe decline, with the Neptun baths and several grand buildings standing empty and decaying for decades. Restoration has begun, funded partly by campaigns that drew national attention, and some buildings have been stabilised. The result is an unusual place to visit: genuinely beautiful bones, visible decay, working modern baths, and free thermal pools in the river gorge itself.

History

The Romans founded Ad Aquas Herculis here on the legend that Hercules stopped in the valley to bathe and rest, and six statues of Hercules from that time have been found; a bronze copy of one, cast in 1874, stands in the town centre. The Roman baths at what is now Hygea's Spring, mapped in 1774, covered 667 square metres with 11 rooms, and Austrian architects used the ruins of the amphitheatre to lay out the terraced park that still fills the centre (Wikipedia, Băile Herculane).

What to look for

• The Habsburg core - nineteenth-century bath houses, casino and hotels.
• The Neptun baths - the grand derelict bath house under slow restoration.
• Free thermal pools - hot water in and beside the Cerna river.
• The gorge setting - cliffs and forest rising directly above the town.

When to go

April to October for walking in the surrounding national park; the baths work year-round and winter steam in the gorge is atmospheric. Summer weekends bring Romanian visitors in numbers. Spring is best for the flowers on the limestone slopes.

Before you go

The decay is real and confronting: fine buildings stand roofless and fenced, and parts of the centre look abandoned. Modern hotel stock is mixed and some sanatoria are grim. The free river pools are informal, sometimes crowded and not always clean. Come for the atmosphere and the setting rather than for a polished spa break.

Nearby

Domogled national park trails start in the town; the Iron Gates gorge is south.

Key facts