{"id":23770,"date":"2026-02-10T12:06:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mck.krakow.pl\/publikacje\/uzdrowisko-na-wyspie\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:40:17","slug":"uzdrowisko-na-wyspie","status":"publish","type":"publikacje","link":"https:\/\/mck.krakow.pl\/en\/publikacje\/uzdrowisko-na-wyspie\/","title":{"rendered":"Island spa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Piestany is a small town in Slovakia, picturesquely located on the V\u00e1h river. It became famous thanks to thermal waters, probably known there since the Middle Ages. However, the flourishing of Piestany dates back to the time that was favorable to health resorts in Europe, i.e. the 19th century (illustration 1). The development of medicine and the growing awareness of hygiene and the impact of nature on human health meant that in that century, health resorts were created in large numbers throughout Europe. Tired of speeding progress and growing industrialization, the townspeople sought contact with nature in them – one that suits their imaginations, in the right setting and with access to a luxury hotel and spa. Piestany owe their Renaissance to the family of Jewish-Hungarian merchants Winter. Alexander Winter settled there with his sons in the 1880s. He rented the baths from Count Erd\u0151dy, the so-called Pie\u0161\u0165any baths, which he built in the 1920s, giving rise to the spa island on the V\u00e1h, called K\u00fape\u013eny ostrov in Slovak (Fig. 2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winter immediately began to expand the spa, employing his eldest son Ludwik (also known under the Hungarian name Lajos). Ludwik, educated in Vienna, was then twenty years old. Despite his young age, he stood up to the challenge and raised Piestany to the rank of a fashionable resort. After the death of his father in 1909, he completely took over the management of the spa. On his initiative, many buildings were erected in Piestany, including the pride of the city – the Thermia Palace hotel and the Irma spa (il. 3, 4, 5, 6). At the time of its opening in 1912, it was the most modern hotel and spa complex in Europe. It is not surprising that in 1917 he was chosen as the place of a unique meeting. It was there that three emperors stayed: German Wilhelm II, Austrian Charles I and Bulgarian Ferdinand I to discuss further warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n HERITO, nr 51\u201352: Zdrowe miejsca<\/div>\n
\n \u201eWynalezienie\u201d czasu wolnego w XIX wieku sprawi\u0142o, \u017ce wypoczynek przesta\u0142 by\u0107 elitarn\u0105 przyjemno\u015bci\u0105 klas wy\u017cszych, a wyjazd po zdrowie \u201edo w\u00f3d\u201d stopniowo si\u0119 demokratyzowa\u0142 i stawa\u0142 coraz bardziej dost\u0119pny. Praca najemna wraz z popraw\u0105 sytuacji materialnej i rozwojem kolei oraz biur podr\u00f3\u017cy umo\u017cliwia urlopy poza miejscem zamieszkania, z dala od zgie\u0142ku miast przemys\u0142owych. Wp\u0142ywa to na rozw\u00f3j zdroj\u00f3w, uzdrowisk, miejscowo\u015bci wypoczynkowych i kurort\u00f3w, kt\u00f3re przyjmuj\u0105 coraz wi\u0119cej zr\u00f3\u017cnicowanych go\u015bci. Rodzi si\u0119 i rozwija kultura, architektura oraz literatura uzdrowiskowa. To w\u0142a\u015bnie ich \u015brodkowoeuropejskim wariantom przygl\u0105damy si\u0119 w tym numerze \u201eHerito\u201d, kt\u00f3re w stulecie wydania \u201eCzarodziejskiej g\u00f3ry” Tomasza Manna zabiera w podr\u00f3\u017c do najwa\u017cniejszych zdrowych miejsc naszego regionu, od Morza Ba\u0142tyckiego, przez zdroje Sudet\u00f3w i Karpat, a\u017c po rubie\u017ce cesarstwa Habsburg\u00f3w. <\/div>\n\n
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\n Author of the publication: <\/strong> Praca zbiorowa
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In the interwar period, Piestany did not slow down. Ludwik Winter in the years 1919\u20131935 was the president of the Association of Slovak Spas. He intensively developed Piestany, equipping them with new pavements, asphalt roads as well as water supply and sewage systems. At that time Piestany also gained a lot of modern architecture. Modern hotels in functionalist style have been built in the city center. Excelsior and Eden (il. 7) are next to each other and you can think that this is one complex. In fact, two architects from Pie\u0161\u0165any Pavel Weisz and \u013dudov\u00edt Weiss received independent orders. The solids harmonize with each other in style and also in the rhythm of the balconies. Eden is distinguished by a dynamic, rounded corner and a fa\u00e7ade varied by round staircase windows and strongly protruding balconies. Excelsior is slightly more raw in form and economical in means. Galleries stretching along the floors and the back two last floors give the impression of cascading. Both hotels are still operating – Eden under the old name, and Excelsior as Yalta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this period, Piestany also gained an object that is still the symbol of the city today. In the years 1930\u20131931, the wooden bridge over the V\u00e1h river connecting the city center with the island was replaced by a reinforced concrete structure. The Column Bridge (Slovak: Kolon\u00e1dov\u00fd most) (il. 8.9 to choose or both) performs not only a communication but also a recreational function. It is two-speed, one lane for car traffic, the other – roofed, with pedestrian benches – is a promenade overlooking the river. Its style is clearly functionalist, economical. It contrasts with the figure placed on the bank from the city side. The so-called barlol\u00e1ma\u010d is a figurative representation of a young man breaking his knee by Robert K\u00fchmayer (Fig. 10). This sculpture perfectly captures the spirit of the era, rushing forward, wanting to escape from what was so recently the everyday reality of all of Europe: the view of battlefields and war invalids. The modernist cult of the body and love of sport was a reaction to the catastrophe of World War I, which left traumatized and mutilated, also physically, society. The Pie\u0161\u0165any sculpture is a perfect expression of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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\n The Franz Joseph Baths in Pie\u0161\u0165any, postcard from 1909, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana. <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Therma Palace and Irma Spa, postcard from 1914, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana. <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Interior of Therma Palace, postcard from 1918, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana. <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Hotele Eden i Excelsior w Pieszczanach, 1932 rok, zdj\u0119cie: FOTO:FORTEPAN \/ Gy\u00f6ngyi via Wikimedia Commons <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Most Kolumnowy w Pieszczanach, 1960 rok, FOTO:FORTEPAN \/ Umann Korn\u00e9l via Wikimedia Commons <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Most Kolumnowy w Pieszczanach, zdj\u0119cie wsp\u00f3\u0142czesne, Michal Bjalek via Wikimedia Commons <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n Barlol\u00e1ma\u010d, czyli \u0142ami\u0105cy kule, zdj\u0119cie wsp\u00f3\u0142czesne, Laborec via Wikimedia Commons <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Postcard from Pieszczany, 1899, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana.<\/div>\n \n \n
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The Franz Joseph Baths in Pie\u0161\u0165any, postcard from 1909, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana.<\/div>\n \n \n
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Therma Palace and Irma Spa, postcard from 1914, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana.<\/div>\n \n \n
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Interior of Therma Palace, postcard from 1918, in the collection of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism in Budapest (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana.<\/div>\n \n \n
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Therma Palace i spa Irma, widok zewn\u0119trzny, poczt\u00f3wka z 1916 roku, w zbiorach W\u0119gierskiego Muzeum Handlu i Turystyki w Budapeszcie (Magyar Kereskedelmi \u00e9s Vend\u00e9gl\u00e1t\u00f3ipari M\u00fazeum) via Europeana.<\/div>\n \n \n
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Hotele Eden i Excelsior w Pieszczanach, 1932 rok, zdj\u0119cie: FOTO:FORTEPAN \/ Gy\u00f6ngyi via Wikimedia Commons<\/div>\n \n \n
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Most Kolumnowy w Pieszczanach, 1960 rok, FOTO:FORTEPAN \/ Umann Korn\u00e9l via Wikimedia Commons<\/div>\n \n \n
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Most Kolumnowy w Pieszczanach, zdj\u0119cie wsp\u00f3\u0142czesne, Michal Bjalek via Wikimedia Commons<\/div>\n \n \n
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Barlol\u00e1ma\u010d, czyli \u0142ami\u0105cy kule, zdj\u0119cie wsp\u00f3\u0142czesne, Laborec via Wikimedia Commons<\/div>\n \n \n
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