When we are on holidays, or we need a relax moment, we usually think of spas. But how much do we know them? Hereafter, we will explain you how they originated and what changes have appeared until the spas we know today.
What is a Spa?
When we talk about spa, we think about relax and water, but if we haven’t been there yet, we don’t really know what is a spa and how it works. The words that come to our mind aren’t far from reality because the main goal of a spa is to relax with water. In it you will find different pools, treatments, massages or relaxing systems like saunas or swan necks, always related to water. With those elements, the person can completely relax his body and his mind.
Its origin
Even if a lot of people think that « spa » is an acronym, the truth is that it comes from the village of Spa, Belgium, which during the Roman Empire its name was Aquae Spadanae. But the origin of the spas goes back to the prehistory. We have found a lot of evidences demonstrating that in the Bronze Era, water was used as a cure or a purification ritual on the Europe region. Those purification practices with water have been present in civilization like the Egyptian, Native American or, last but not least, in Greece or during the Roman Empire, where they became the spas that we know nowadays.
Its evolution
After the Greeks added showers and bathtubs to relax on gyms, Romans took it to a new level transforming it unto their famous Thermes, buildings dedicated to relaxing with water, creating this way the first spa. On the Middle Ages, bathing in water became a treatment given by doctors to treat some diseases. On the XIX century, after spas had became a meeting site for the high class, they became normal and scientifics of this period began to proof their benefits. Step by step, little installations were added like water jets or imported from other cultures like hammams, creating the spas we know nowadays.
Now that you know what is a spa and how it transformed onto what we know nowadays, come a feel it yourself in our Mountain Spa.
