Piešťany

Piešťany ( pronunciation / i: [ ' pĭɛʃcani ]; German Pistyan or Pistian, rarely [Bad ] Püschtin, Hungarian Pöstyény - to 1907 Pöstyén, Polish Piszczany ) is the largest city in the district of the same and known spa in western Slovakia.

Geography

The town Piešťany is located in the northern Danube hills (Slovak Podunajská pahorkatina, part of the Slovak Danube lowland ) on the river Vah. Through the city flows the river also Dubová. Piešťany is flanked to the east by the Považský Inovec while rise west to the Little Carpathians. Just south of the city, the Waag is accumulated in the reservoir Sĺňava.

The town consists of two parts, one of the actual town of Piešťany and on the other the place Kocurice, which was incorporated in 1974 and is located in the west on the other side of the highway.

The following information refers to the air line to the nearest town, and the distances are rounded to the nearest half kilometers. Cities are highlighted in bold.

History

The first human settlements in the area of the present town, there were already about 80,000 years ago, because the area has a very favorable climate. In addition, there was an abundance of thermal springs, which not froze over in the winter.

A small female figure ( Venus of Moravany ) was in situated near the town of village Moravany found nad Váhom ( Moravan ); it was made ​​from mammoth ivory and is approximately 22,800 incurred before Christ. It is now in the Museum at the Castle Bratislava.

In the nearby village also Krakovany - Stráže a collection of luxury items made ​​of glass, bronze, silver and gold was found in three graves in an excavation site, these date from the period between 200 and 300 AD.

The town Piešťany itself was first mentioned in 1113 as Pescan. At that time it consisted of several small settlements. The springs were already used in the Middle Ages, a visit of King Matthias Corvinus is preserved.

The first mention of the sources of Piešťany found in the book De admirable andis Hungariae acquis hypomnemation ( " About the wonderful waters of Hungary " ) by Georgius Wernher, which was published in 1549 in Basel. During the 16th and 17th century, the city as well as many others in the region suffered from the ravages of the Turks and the anti-Habsburg uprisings.

Over the centuries, the place belonged to various noble families, the last was the family Erdődy. They owned the area from 1720 to 1848, the bathroom himself erect even to 1940. The first bathhouses left the family in 1778, but they were severely damaged by the devastating flood of 1813. 1820, the bathhouses were expanded and rebuilt in neoclassical style ( Napoleon bath). Likewise, a park was created.

From 1889 to 1940, the swimming facilities were leased by the Winter family, especially Ľudovít winter brought the bath to international fame, by the methods of treatment (from 1840 already there was a steady spa doctor ), but also the accommodation and leisure facilities including through the construction new bathing facilities and hotels improved. While today at the right Waagufer numerous shops, bars, restaurants as well as the sprawling city park are, the spa is the spa and the thermal springs on the left side of the river.

1945 was officially granted the city of Piešťany law. Since 1959 there is in the south the great Waagstausee Sĺňava; the pressure of water reaches into the urban area into it. Despite the stagnation of the bath industry after the nationalization of the bath in 1940 for another bath house were in the 1960s and 1970s ( by Scandinavian investors ) construction ( Balnea Grand Balnea Splendid and Villa Berlin ). All hotels are located on the Spa Island, which lies in the river Vah.

Attention was the city in recent times by the capture of three members of the Real IRA on 5 July 2001, after they were lured by agents of the British secret service MI5, who were disguised as an arms dealer from Iraq, into a trap.

From 12 to 13 September 2008, a summit meeting of the Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic, the Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom, the Czech president Václav Klaus and Polish President Lech Kaczynski was held on the Spa Island. They consecrated on 12 September 2008 in front of the Irma - bath the "President of fountains " one. At the edge of the fountain, the President names are engraved on the four metal plates.

Treatment methods

Piešťany was already before the First World War the leading rheumatism spas in Europe. At the spa guests included, inter alia, Empress Elisabeth, Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria and Emperor Wilhelm II Large gained popularity in the bathroom all over Germany and Austria, as Richard Tauber 1929 stayed on the recommendation of silent movie star Henny Porten in Bad Pistyan. The famous tenor had been admitted completely paralyzed after a gout attack; almost daily reported Vienna and Berlin newspapers on the progress of the patient up to his healing.

Piešťany has 70 ° C warm, sulfurous hot springs. The warm Waagschlamm is used for applications against scoliosis, osteoporosis, arthritis, rheumatism and gout. Similarly, the Adeli method is applied in Piešťany. In Piešťany currently the only Adeli Centre is worldwide. Around 15 patients from all parts of the world are treated on a monthly basis according to this method. Today, about 40,000 spa guests come every year to Piešťany.

Attractions

• Statue of a healed man with a broken crutch
• Colonnade Bridge over the Waag with the inscription "surge et ambula "
• Art Nouveau buildings, such as Thermia Palace Hotel of 1912 and the associated Bad " Irma "
• Outdoor swimming pools "Eva" and " Slnava "

Transport links

Piešťany, with the automobile 88 km northeast of Bratislava, respectively, 1 hour drive away. The city of Trnava, in 36 km ( 36 min. ), The city of Nitra 55 km (58 min. ) Can be achieved. The River Vah cross two bridges: the Kolonadovy most ( literally Colonnades bridge for pedestrians only ), connecting the center with the island Kúpeľný ostrov, as well as the Krajinský most ( literally Land Bridge ), a road bridge (State Road 499).

The city is connected to both the Slovak railway network as well as to the motorway network. Piešťany has a separate connection to the D1 motorway. The town has a small airport, but at least at present (January 2007) does not offer a regular service.

From the train station in Piešťany, which lies on the railway line Bratislava - Žilina, providing direct access to:

• Bratislava
• Vienna
• Žilina
• Košice
• Humenné

• Poprad
• Trenčianska Teplá
• Trenčín
• Nové Mesto nad Váhom
• Trnava

• Čierna Tisou
• Leopoldov
• Martin
• Lviv
• Kiev

Sons and daughters of the town

• Dominika Cibulková (* 1989), Slovak tennis player
• Filip Hološko (* 1984), the Slovak football player
• Lukáš Lacko (* 1987), Slovakian tennis player
• Martina Moravcová ( b. 1976 ), Slovak swimmer
• Branko Radivojevic ( b. 1980 ), Slovak ice hockey player