History of the Lake Baths

The history of the Hévíz Lake Baths in a nutshell
Hévíz spa between 1795 and 1905

Count György I. Festetics, the landowner, had the first, then rectangular, two-building baths built in 1795 over the lake. In 1801, news of the beneficial effects of the medicinal water reached Vienna, and a report from 1818 mentioned the presence of white water lilies in the lake. Other Indian species were planted in 1898. In 1858, the forestation around the lake, the modernisation of the baths buildings and the construction of the lakeside guesthouses began. The men's and women's baths (baths enclosed by cabins) were located in the centre of the lake, but many people used the then much wider Hévíz stream for bathing.

Hévíz spa in the 1910s and 1920s

From 1905, the tenant Vencel Reischl did his utmost to develop Hévíz into an international spa resort. The former spa building was replaced by a domed building. He was also responsible for the construction of several modern hotels and restaurants, as well as the “Kursaal", an essential feature of a spa resort. In 1907, a covered bridge was built on the site of the old bridge and the characteristic two-towered main entrance was completed. The Hévíz Sanatorium and Spa Hotel were built in the same year. In 1911, the town was granted the title of "spa-type settlement". Thanks to Vencel Reischl, renowned spa physicians had already been practising in Hévíz. They successfully experimented and proved the traditional methods of Hévíz medicine.

Hévíz spa in the 1930s

After 1926, development was given a new impetus. The distinctive lakeside Bathhouse was built, and in 1932 the main building was given a glass roof, making it fully covered. By 1930, the village had seven hotels, eleven restaurants and forty villas, and a rich cultural life welcomed the almost 16,000 people who visited Hévíz annually. Dr Vilmos Schulhof was the head physician in Hévíz in these happy peacetime years. He did much to promote the medical science of Hévíz. Today, the promenade next to the Lake Baths is named after him.

Buildings in Hévíz before 1945

The “Cupping House", which was used for medical treatments (blood-letting= cupping), was built at the same time as the first spa building (1795). Whereas in the first half of the 19th century, the surroundings of the lake were merely areas with reeds and marshland, from the 1850s onwards many beautiful hotels were knowingly built. By 1870, Houses I to VII were already erected, of which House Seven was the only two-storey building. A Roman Catholic chapel was also built (it was later demolished), then in the early 1900s additional hotels, souvenir shops and the “Kursaal”, which was used for balls and concerts. World War II, however, put an end to the development, and most of the buildings were converted into military hospitals.

Hévíz spa in the 1950s and 1960s

In 1948, the Festetics-owned Lake Baths and all the associated buildings and parks were nationalized, and the period of state-run holidays began. In 1952, the State Spa Hospital of Hévíz was established and in the same year, Hévíz was declared a spa of national importance. By 1968, the country's most modern indoor spa building fully equipped with balneotherapeutic devices was completed. It was during this period that Dr Károly Moll, an internationally renowned rheumatologist and the inventor of the weight bath, became the chief physician of the Hévíz hospital.

Hévíz spa in the 1970s and 1980s

In the 1970s, tourism increased to such an extent (thanks to the growing number of Western visitors) that it became necessary to build more quality hotels and reconstruct the buildings of the Lake Baths. From 1977 onwards, the former domed buildings were gradually replaced by Larchwood-clad buildings. The full renovation was completed by 1985, but visitors were not able to enjoy the new facilities for long, as they were destroyed by a fire on 3rd March 1986. The new buildings were finally completed in 1989.

Investments and developments after the turn of the millennium

The buildings of the Lake Baths were renovated and extended several times after the major reconstruction in 1989. The two central pools, which were initially uncovered, were roofed over, making the central building completely weatherproof. In 2010, the Festetics Bathhouse, located at the entrance from Ady Endre Street, was inaugurated. This facility added wellness services to the existing range of services of the Lake Baths. A children's playground and children's pools were completed on the beach near the summer entrance, and a mud pool was built next to one of the sun terraces above the lake. Improvements are ongoing, most recently the Kinesio Movement Analysis Laboratory has been opened in the building.

The legacy of the uncle

Vencel Reischl the Younger (1839? - 12 August 1923) became an orphan at an early age. He was brought up by Vencel Reischl the Elder (his uncle), a Czech brewmaster, the owner of the Reischl Brewery in Keszthely.
The boy learnt the craft of brewing in the Czech town of Budweis. He was sent from Moravia to Graz to continue his studies, from where he returned home to Keszthely in 1862. In 1865, his uncle bought the brewery from Prince Tasziló Festetics and handed over the management of the brewery with unrestricted right to dispose to Vencel the Younger. Under his management, the brewery made such a profit that around 1910 Vencel Reischl the Younger was considered the second richest citizen of Keszthely (and the surrounding area) after Prince Tasziló Festetics.

In 1905, the brewer took a 35-year lease on Hévíz Baths from the Festetics family.

He immediately began remarkable development work in the area, as he aimed to make the Lake Baths one of the most famous spa towns in Europe. His first step was to have some of the marshy areas filled in to make them suitable for construction. Under his direction, some of the buildings near the lake were demolished and the ones in better condition were converted into multi-storey modern villas. The Rákóczi House and the György House were completed in 1906, and the Ferenc Deák House in 1907. In 1908, the László Csány House and the buildings of the souvenir shops were finished. The Kursaal, which hosted concerts and balls, was opened in 1909. The József House was inaugurated in 1910 and the Ella Villa in 1912. A modern sanatorium was built in the northern part of the town, and several new hotels and service buildings were completed. From 1906 onwards, developments continued and the modernisation and extension of the spa buildings began. The former baths were joined by additional buildings built on piles and covered by a dome. In 1907, the former simple wooden duckboard bridge was removed and, a little further on, replaced by a covered wooden bridge. The characteristic two-towered main entrance was completed, in front of which Prince Festetics had the sculptures of cherubs made.

He invited Dr Vilmos Schulhof, a spa physician, to work in Hévíz during the summer bathing season in 1906. Dr Vilmos Schulhof with his methods, expertise and internationally renowned studies and publications made significant steps in promoting the success of Hévíz medicine. He worked in Hévíz until 1944. In 1944, he and his wife were deported to Auschwitz. Dr Károly Moll came to Hévíz in 1920 and became the head physician of the spa in 1932. The expertise of the local physicians was recognised internationally. The new methodological institutes they founded, the medical procedures they introduced and the research they carried out based on their practical experience established Hévíz's reputation as a spa resort.

The construction work was accompanied by considerable "marketing" work appropriate for the era. Colourful posters advertised the beauty of the spa and the complexity of the facilities. Publications and brochures were published in Hungarian and German languages advertising the modern spa, the beneficial thermal water and the diversity of cultural life. In 1911, Hévíz obtained the title of a spa-type settlement through the instrumentality of Vencel. A little luck was also on Hévíz's side, as in 1914, Nelly, the elephant of a Budapest zoo, came to Hévíz for a bathing cure, which also brought Hévíz a lot of publicity.
During the First World War, although investment was suspended, bathing life continued relatively uninterrupted. After the war, however, Hévíz was in a somewhat more favourable position as several of the country's famous spa resorts belonged to the annexed territories leaving Hévíz as almost the only significant spa resort left in Hungary. This is also the reason why significant developments took place, including the construction of additional villas, guesthouses, a cinema, a post office and a road network after 1920.
In 1927, under the direction of Vencel’s children, a two-storey building of the baths was built on the northern shore of the lake and another bathing complex was built with another bridge leading to it.
Vencel Reischl the Younger had eight children and died in 1923 at the age of 83. He left his family a considerable fortune, a fine inheritance and the lease and income from a spa of international renown.

By 1932, the central building over the lake had a glass roof on a sliding iron structure so it was open in nice weather and closed when it rained. By this time there were seven hotels, twelve restaurants and forty villas in the village, and 16,000 visitors arrived in Hévíz a year.
In the first half of the 1900s, the Reischl family was one of the most influential families in Keszthely and the surrounding area. They were held in high esteem because their public involvement helped the region to prosper. It is very sad that, by the 1940s, as a result of the anti-Jewish laws, the well-respected Reischls were not allowed to hold office and even to vote. Later, several members of the family emigrated because of their Jewish origins and the family’s brewery and the Hungária Hotel in Keszthely were nationalised in 1948.

What happened to the baths?

The 35-year lease expired in 1940. The property with the baths, hotels and the sanatorium was again in the hands of the Festetics family and they planned further improvements. However, the prince died unexpectedly in 1941 at the age of 59. His 9-month-old son became the heir to the entailed property, leaving the administrative duties to his mother Countess Maria Haugwitz. In the first years of the war, the spa life in Hévíz was relatively undisturbed, but from 1943 almost all the hotels were converted into military hospitals. On 25th April 1945, the Hévíz National Committee decided that the Hévíz spa, the thermal lake and all the associated buildings and parks owned by the underage Prince György Festetics (IV), who was abroad at the time, would be taken over by the municipality. The family fought in vain for the ownership of the lake baths. In March 1948, all properties were nationalized.