Hévíz

The thermal lake of Hévíz

The thermal lake of Hévíz is the largest biologically active, natural thermal lake of the world which refreshes both the body and the soul.
The oldest and most well-known bath of Hungary, in accordance with records from the Roman era, has a history of 2000 years. The Hévíz treatment, in its present sense, also dates back more than 200 years.
The 4.4 ha lake is fed by its spring rushing up at a depth of 38 m, containing sulphur, radium and minerals. Due to the high water output of the spring, the water of the lake is completely changed within 85 hours. The water of the Hévíz Lake is equally rich in dissolved substances and gases, combining the favourable effects of naturally carbonated medicinal waters and those containing sulphur, calcium, magnesium, hydrogen-carbonate, as well as those with a slightly radioactive content.

The medicinal mud, which covers the bed of the lake in a thick layer, deserves special attention. The Hévíz mud, which is unique of its kind, contains both organic and inorganic substances and the radium-salts and reduced sulphuric solutions in it represent special medicinal factors. The medicinal water and mud originating from the several then thousand year-old Pannonian Sea, together with the complex physiotherapeutic treatments, are suitable for treating all kinds of rheumatic and locomotory diseases.
The temperature of the water is 23-25 C in winter and 33-36 C in summer.

Relaxed floating on the water, the swinging water-lotuses and the green leaves of the trees tranquillize the nervous system and contribute to the psychic factor of recovering. In winter a ‘mist cap’ is formed from the vapour on the surface of the water which prevents the water from cooling down and at the same time a natural inhalatorium is created. Inhaling the sulphur-hydrogen emitted into the air and the radium-emanation produces favourable curative effects: keeps our vocal cords in a good condition.
The advantageous effects of the Hévíz Lake can also be enjoyed through a drinking-treatment which is suitable for curing stomach and digestive disorders.

The Hévíz Spa and St. Andrew Hospital of Rheumatic Diseases Public Benefit Company is the maintainer of the thermal lake offering a whole range of services to visitors.

Winter baths:
The building complex on the Schulhof Promenade houses the so-called Winter Baths. Naturally, the therapy centre located in the territory of the hospital, offering indoor bathing opportunities can be visited by the guests of the town at any time of the year. There are 9 indoor pools (medicinal pool, weight bath, adventure bath, physiotherapeutic bath, bubble bath) with a temperature of 32-37 C.

Hospital services
The predecessor of the St. Andrew Hospital was founded in 1952 and inpatients, as well as outpatients have been received since then. The effectiveness of the therapy is provided by the full diagnostic services and the 200-year-old medical competence. The hospital offers medical examinations and a complete treatment on the basis of individual therapy plans. In- and outpatients receive just the right therapy from a complete range of physiotherapeutic treatments (mud packing, weight bath, underwater jet massage, carbonic acid bath, electric bath, diadynamic current treatment, interference treatment, magnetic therapy, four-cell galvanic bath, ultrasound, physiotherapy, therapeutic massage). All the equipment (laboratory, ECG, X-ray) for specifying an exact diagnosis are all available in the hospital. In addition, numerous specialized medical consultations are offered, such as internal medicine, neurology, orthopaedics, surgery, urology and dentistry.

The Hévíz Lake lies in a 60.5 ha nature conservation area, 4.44 ha of which is the surface of the lake. The marsh-land surrounding the lake is protected by law. The spring cave and the lake are also particularly protected natural phenomena.

The Hévíz Lake as a geological curiosity:
Unlike the other warm-water lakes in the world which were usually formed in clay soil or in a rocky bed, the Hévíz Lake is a lake with a peat-bed.

Spring Cave:
In the large cave, which was explored in 1975, there are several cold and warm-water springs mixing. From here, the mixed medicinal water flows on through a narrow passage, then gets to the thermal lake from the Spring Cave at a constant temperature of 38.5 °C. Due to its special status, the Spring Cave can be visited only with observing the strict regulations and the rules of cave diving and after obtaining the permission of the relevant nature conservation authority.

The fauna and flora of the lake:
The fauna and flora of the lake is unique due to the temperature of the water and its specific composition. The micro organisms of the water and the mud also contribute to the healing power of the lake. The sulphur-bacteria extract sulphur from the water, while other bacterium species play a significant role in decomposing peat and producing medicinal mud. The ‘micromonospore heviziensis’, which is a strong protein and cellulose decomposing bacterium, can be found nowhere else in the world. The diversity of the fauna and flora is shown by the fact that this is the place where some plant species can exclusively be found in Hungary and also in Europe.

Water-lilies
The most beautiful plant of the lake, the water-lily, has become the symbol of Hévíz and has been incorporated into the coat of arms and also the flag of the town. The red Indian water-lily was brought to Hungary in 1898 by Sándor Lovassy, the teacher of the Academy of Economy in Keszthely. Thanks to the naturalization attempts carried out on the lake, the blue and white Egyptian water-lily can also be found in the water, as well as the lighter mutants of the red water-lily. The native white water-lily grows in the drainage canal. The blooming of the strictly protected plants starts as early as the beginning of summer and lasts up to the end of November. The leaves of the water-lily slow down the evaporation of the lake, while the creepers at the bottom of the lake protect the medicinal mud containing radium.

Sights in Hévíz

Hévíz healing lake and the surrounding protective forest with walking paths Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church – opposite the City Hall in the middle of Széchenyi Street, also known as the Blue Church Egregy cellar row, Árpádian church and the tomb of the Roman soldier – at the end of Zrínyi street Library, Art Cinema and Museum Collection, Winter Bath – in the pedestrian (Rákóczi) street Local farmers market – behind the Big Parking lot. Open: Tuesday and Saturday de., Thursday du. Roman Ruin Garden and Local History Museum – at the end of Attila Street Berki promenade – you have to enter the road along the lake outlet, opposite the Festetics barn, the bike path to Keszthely also starts from the road leading here