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Hévíz

The spa town located in Zala county, it is the center of the Hévíz area.

Recommended tours

Attractions

The temperature of the erupting water is 35-36 °C. The water’s source is located in a spring cave to the north of the bath house, in the depth of 20-25 meters. The lake’s bottom is covered in 1-3 m thick sludge which is composed of plants and minerals and its healing effects are widely used in the medicinal practice of the town. The water is best used for musculoskeletal issues but drinking it can also help with treating digestion problems. The exotic plant of the lake is the water lily which was first brought here from East-India in 1898 and found a welcoming habitat in the lake’s warm waters.

At the Northern end of Hévíz is the church of Egregy – the village itself was destroyed during the Turkish occupation. This famous church was built in the first half of the 13th century, a nice example of the Romanesque style. The inner and outer decorating painting of the church is more recent, it was made in 1731 and restored in the 1960’s.

Wine route

History

Hévíz’s surroundings has been populated since the end of the New Stone Age. (The oldest finding is a 7500 years old stone axe.) In 1931, the remains of a Roman villa were discovered. Around the lake – the biggest warm water lake in Europe -  fragments of Roman pots, and coins were unearthed, and the Roman grave found in 1925 can still be visited at the road to Egregy Church.

The name of Hévíz – meaning thermal water – can be first read on a document dated from 1328. It is likely that the people living here in those times have already known the healing effects of the Hévíz water. Sources from the 1730’s already mention bath houses in the town.

In 1795, the swamps of the area were drained to give place to new bath houses.  Even if the constructions began this early, the real development of the of the spa town only began in the second half of the 19th century with the first bath house built on piles. The first building suitable for healing purposes was built at the beginning of the 20th century, and this is when the modern spa culture began.