Great Spa Towns of Europe

This article is about the UNESCO World Heritage site. For a list of spa towns in Europe, see List of spa towns § In Europe.

The Great Spa Towns of Europe is a transnational World Heritage Site consisting of a selection of 11 spa towns across seven European countries. They were developed around natural mineral water springs.^[1][2] From the early 18th century to the 1930s, Western Europe experienced an increase in spa and bathing culture, leading to the construction of elaborate bath houses.^[1] These would often include gardens, casinos, theatres, and villas surrounding the springs and the bath houses.^[1][3]

The Great Spa Towns of Europe

UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Roman Baths in Bath, England, one of the spa towns within the World Heritage Site
Location	Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom
Includes	Eleven spa towns in Europe
Criteria	Cultural: (ii)(iii)
Reference	1613
Inscription	2021 (44th Session)
Area	7,014 ha (17,330 acres)
Buffer zone	11,319 ha (27,970 acres)

Nomination

The city of Bath was originally inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987.^[4]

The efforts to get the Great Spas of Europe onto the World Heritage List began in 2012, and the nomination was submitted in 2019.^[5] On 24 July 2021, the Great Spas of Europe was officially inscribed on the World Heritage List.^[2]

List of spa towns

Town	Country	ID[6]	Picture
Baden bei Wien	Austria	1613-001
Spa	Belgium	1613-002
Františkovy Lázně	Czech Republic	1613-003
Karlovy Vary	Czech Republic	1613-004
Mariánské Lázně	Czech Republic	1613-005
Vichy	France	1613-006
Bad Ems	Germany	1613-007
Baden-Baden	Germany	1613-008
Bad Kissingen	Germany	1613-009
Montecatini Terme	Italy	1613-010
Bath	United Kingdom	1613-011

Map

The Great Spa Towns of Europe

500km
300miles

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The Great Spa Towns of Europe

1

Baden bei Wien

2

Spa

3

Františkovy Lázně

4

Karlovy Vary

5

Mariánské Lázně

6

Vichy

7

Bad Ems

8

Baden-Baden

9

Bad Kissingen

10

Montecatini Terme

11

Bath

References

1. "The Great Spa Towns of Europe". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
2. "Five sites in the Arab and Europe regions inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
3. Nomination of the Great Spas of Europe for inclusion on the World Heritage List (Report). United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
4. "Bath another step closer to second World Heritage listing". somersetlive.co.uk. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
5. "11 European cities nominate The Great Spas of Europe for UNESCO World Heritage List". sheritagetribune.eu. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
6. "The Great Spa Towns of Europe : Multiple locations". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

External links

• Official website
• The Great Spa Towns of Europe UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture