Other Baths

Széchenyi and Gellért are the famous names, but many visitors and most locals use the smaller baths. Each has a character of its own, shaped by its building, its neighbourhood and the people who go there. This chapter looks at four of them and at some of the habits that have grown up around the city's baths: women-only and men-only days, night bathing and the seasons. Names, dates and details are from general knowledge and flagged for checking. Nothing here is medical advice, and opening rules change often.

Lukács

The Lukács bath in Buda, near the Margit Bridge, has been a bath site for centuries, with Ottoman and earlier roots (check the history), and was enlarged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is known as a bath used by locals, with a medical section and a reputation as a place where artists, writers and intellectuals gathered in the twentieth century (check the claim). A courtyard wall displays plaques left by grateful bathers, a sign of its role as a place of treatment (check the details).

Rudas

Rudas is the best-preserved Ottoman bath (see Chapter 2), with its octagonal pool beneath a dome. Later parts were added, including a modern wellness section and a rooftop pool with a view of the Danube and the city (check the current features). Its pattern of use is distinctive and has changed over time:

• Traditional days. Historically it has had separate days or hours for men and women, a pattern kept in some form (check the current schedule).
• Mixed and night sessions. Mixed evenings and night bathing have been added in recent decades, with swimwear required in the mixed sessions (check).
• Its reputation. Rudas has had a long association with a certain social set, and some of its sessions have been popular with specific communities (check and avoid stereotyping).

Király

The Király bath in Víziváros is smaller and quieter, with Ottoman domes in its core (see Chapter 2). It is often described as a good bath for people who want to avoid the crowds (check). It has in recent years been restored and its opening arrangements have changed (check the status).

Veli Bej

The Veli Bej bath, near the Lukács and the Császár complex, has an Ottoman origin and was rebuilt in the twentieth century (check the name and the history). It is a small bath that has been reopened after closure (check the status). Names of baths in this area are often confused, since the Veli Bej, Császár and Lukács lie close together, so check the specific bath when planning (check).

Habits and Seasons

• Regulars. Many Budapest residents have a favourite bath, a favourite day and even a favourite spot. Retired residents often go early in the morning, a point from the "habit" lens of Chapter 1.
• Single-sex and mixed sessions. Rules differ from bath to bath and from day to day, and have changed over time. Chapter 7 covers what to check.
• Winter. Outdoor pools are popular in cold weather, and steam rises from the water on frosty days.
• Night bathing. Some baths offer evening and late sessions, a development of recent decades (see Chapter 9 for the party side).

Exercises