History of the bath

Pesterzsébet was originally located next to the capital, and today it constitutes the 20th district of Budapest. A spa was built in the area near the Danube as early as the first decades of the 20th century. The swimming pool, built in 1930, first utilised the water of the Danube. The spa facilities were operated by János Földváry as a tenant in 1931, having won the leasing rights through a public tender. The tenant immediately began major water search operations, which produced results in a relatively short time. They found a type of thermal water containing significant amounts of iodine, salt and bromine - unique for the area of Budapest. This type of water is suitable for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases and gynecological complaints, furthermore, iodine is known for its beneficial effect on circulation as well as for its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic effects, while bromine is known for its stress-relieving effects and its ability to calm the nervous system. János Földváry built up the spa facilities gradually. The Turkish style bath was built in 1936. Apart from bath spas and pools, a large swimming pool and various medical treatments, a hotel on the premises was also operated with 12 rooms has with 12 rooms.

The spa premises became severely damaged during World War II. In the early days afterwards, Pesterzsébet council could only provide money for repairing war damage. Operation of the spa was taken over by the Metropolitan Bath Directorate (Fővárosi Fürdőigazgatóság) on 1st January 1950. Since the water from the Danube was no longer suitable for bathing, the two former wells were deepened in 1951. The free beach at the Danube was no longer available from this time. The spa was renovated in 1956, and drilling works for a new well began due to the inadequate water flow of the former well. In these years, the spa with three pools operated on alternating days for men and women. 11-12 thousand guests visited the facilities every year. Mud treatments and massages were also provided until 1968.

The water filtration system for cleaning the wave pool was completed in 1973. The wave machine and the wave bath were designed by the first engineer officer of Miklós Horthy's Adriatic yacht. Thanks to the water supplied by another, new well drilled in 1977 and the children's pool that was completed in 1979, the turnover of the spa increased sharply (200,878 people visited in 1979).

However, these favourable results could not compensate for the increase in the costs of the operation of the spa facilities, as iodine-salt water had to be heated up. Thus, the open-air bath closed in 2001, and the thermal bath in 2005.