Great Spa Towns of Europe

In July 2021, UNESCO designated a new World Heritage Site "The Great Spa Towns of Europe". It encompasses 11 towns in 7 countries, so you’re sure to find several worth exploring the next time you’re in Europe. They include the City of Bath (UK), Vichy in France, three spa towns each in Czechia and Germany, and the eponymous Spa in Belgium, long known for its healing thermal waters. All of them feature natural mineral water springs and served as prototypes of today’s luxe international wellness resorts.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

St. Martin Rotunda

The Chapel of St. Martin is the only completely preserved Romanesque building in Vyšehrad and one of the oldest in Prague. In was built around 1100 in the eastern part of the fortified outer ward. Between 1100 and 1300, the Rotrunda was surrounded by a cemetery. The building survived the Hussite Wars and was used as the municipal prison of the Town of the Vyšehrad Hill.

During the Thirty Years’ War, it was used as gunpowder storage, from 1700 to 1750, it was renovated and reconsecrated. In 1784, the chapel was closed passed to the military management which kept using it as a warehouseand a cannon-amunition manufacturing facility. In 1841, it was meant to be demolished to give way to the construction of a new road through Vyšehrad. Eventually, only the original western entrance was walled up and replaced with a new one in the sountren side. The dilapidating Rotunda subsequently served as a shelter for the poor.

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