Trenčianske Teplice

Trenčianske Teplice has been a spa since the fourteenth century, and the building that made it known is the Hammam, a rest house added to the Sina pool in 1888 in a Moorish idiom with horseshoe arches and tilework, commissioned by Iphigenia Sina of the family that owned the spa and open to the public on regular tours. The town around it is a valley of villas, a colonnade and a park, closed to through traffic and quiet.

History

In the middle of the 13th century the land, called terra Teplicza, belonged to the Cseszneky de Milvány family, and it has been a spa since the 14th century; by the 16th it was known across Europe as the most important spa of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Illésházy family owned it from 1582, in 1835 the Viennese financier Sina bought and developed it, and in 1888 his family added the Moorish-style Hammam to the Sina pool (Wikipedia, Trenčianske Teplice; Slovak Wikipedia, Trenčianske Teplice).

What's there

• The Hammam - an 1888 Moorish-style rest house beside the Sina pool.
• The colonnade - the covered promenade through the spa park.
• The sulphur springs - the water the whole town was built on.
• The valley - wooded slopes closing round the spa quarter.

When to go

April to October is the pleasant season, though the spa works year round. The Hammam is shown on regular tours. The summer film festival once held here moved to Košice in 2016.

Things to know

The Hammam is seen on scheduled tours rather than freely. Some spa buildings are run down. The town is small and quiet to the point of dull for some.

Nearby

Trencin is west, and Beckov is southwest.

Key facts