medestino.com travel blog

HÉVÍZ – the magical lake

The lake of Hévíz is the second largest thermal lake in the world, so it is not a surprise that it attracts thousands of tourists every year. As a matter of fact this is the second most visited city - just after Budapest – in Hungary.

This bathing- health resort has a long history, probably the ancient Roman civilization has already discovered the lake’s magical effects (the proof of it is for instance the antique coins which were found in the bottom of the lake), and additionally it was first mentioned in written form in the beginning of the 14^th century. Also Turkish, Slavic and German population used the lake in the past.

In the 18^th century Hévíz belonged to the Festetics family, which built a thermal wooden bathing house on the lake. In the following years several buildings were created, which were already capable of accommodating guests. The big change came in 1905, when Vencel Reischl – a brewery owner from Keszthely - became the tender of the area. He started to build up hotels, modern restaurants and other parts of the bathing resort. The bath became famous all over the country, from this time the number of guest in the region have been increasing.

The springs of the lake break out in a cave in a depth of 38 meters. The daily output of the fountains is more than 80 million litres, which means the full amount of the lake’s water is changed in every two days. The medicinal water is beneficial for joint ailments, rheumatism, locomotor disorders, arthritis, spinal complaints, ankylosing spondylitis, motor impairment as a result of neuroses, neuralgia, and gynaecological diseases.[1]The water temperature is around 35-58 degrees warm, on the surface it is usually 28-32 and during the winter it does not go below 26 degrees. The lake is also famous for the colourful and beautiful water-lilies, which gives Hévíz an even more unique atmosphere.