page_title: Spa town
section_title: Bulgaria
hierarchical_section_title: Spa town / Bulgaria
caption_attribution_description: English: The South gate of Hisarya's Late Roman city wall, the best preserved in Bulgaria
context_page_description: A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa. Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word spa is derived from the name of Spa, a town in Belgium.
  Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He became interested in the curative properties of the hot mineral waters there and in 1676 wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water. This brought the purported health-giving properties of the waters to the attention of the aristocracy, who started to partake in them soon after.
  The term spa is used for towns or resorts offering hydrotherapy, which can include cold water or mineral water treatments and geothermal baths.
context_section_description: Bulgaria is known for its more than 500 mineral springs, including the hottest spring in the Balkans at Sapareva Banya - 103 °C. Other famous spa towns include Sandanski, Hisarya, Bankya, Devin, Kyustendil, Varshets, Velingard.
  In Bulgarian, the word for a spa is баня (transliterated banya).
caption: The Roman walls of Hisarya. Many spa towns in Bulgaria have existed since the Roman Empire.
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