Cave Bath, Thermal bath in a cave in Miskolctapolca, Miskolc, Hungary
Cave Bath (Barlangfürdő) is a thermal bath built into the Tavas cave in Miskolctapolca, a district of Miskolc. Its pools hold 30 °C spring water, with warmer basins of 34 °C and 36 °C added in the 1980s. The outdoor pool, built in 1969, has a shell-shaped roof; a stone sculpture by Lajos Szőke, Ősélőlények, has stood in the domed pool since 1967.
The abbot of Görömböly proposed a bathing site in 1711 and had doctors from Kassa examine the water; three pools and an inn were built in 1723. After neglect and ruin, the bath was restored and expanded in 1837 with the first indoor pool. Miskolc bought the area in the early 20th century, and the Cave Bath itself opened on 14 May 1959.
The bath's name comes from the Tavas cave in which it sits; the cave was converted into a bathing hall only on 14 May 1959. Sculptor Lajos Szőke's stone spatial work "Ősélőlények" (Ancient Creatures) has stood in the domed pool since 1967. In 2016 the complex took the Hungarian "Bath of the Year" title.
Access to the underground areas involves walking through cave entrances where some passages are narrow and may be slippery. Visitors should wear sturdy footwear and bring a towel, allowing time to explore the different bathing areas at their own pace.
The outdoor pool's shell-shaped roof, built in 1969, is the structure most visitors photograph; the pool was added the same year bathing in the spring chamber was stopped so the water could be channelled through a dry shaft into the cave's tiled pool. Since 1967 the dome pool has held Lajos Szőke's stone sculpture "Ősélőlények" (Primeval Creatures).
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