Rudas Baths

Rudas Bath or Rudas fürdő is a thermal and medicinal bath in Budapest, Hungary. It was first built in 1550, during the time of Ottoman rule. To date, it retains many of the key elements of a Turkish bath, exemplified by its Turkish dome and octagonal pool. It is located at Döbrentei tér 9 on the Buda side of Erzsébet Bridge. The bath has six therapy pools and one swimming pool where the temperature is in between 10 and 42 °C (50 and 108 °F). The components of slightly radioactive thermal water includes sulfate, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate and a significant amount of fluoride ion. Medical indications of the water is degenerative joint illnesses, chronic and sub-acute joint inflammations, vertebral disk problems, neuralgia and lack of calcium in the bone system.[1]

Rudas Bath at the foot of Gellért Hill

The baths were used by Sokollu Mustafa Pasha, Beylerbeyi (governor) of Buda Vilayet of the Ottomans between 1566–1578. This is inscribed in Hungarian in the baths, on a stone standing atop the Juve spring, which is believed by locals to have a rejuvenating effect on people.

The baths were used as a location for the opening scene of the 1988 action movie Red Heat, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi.

It re-opened at the beginning of 2006, after a comprehensive renovation of its interior.

The baths are open to women only on Tuesdays, to men the rest of the week, and both men and women on the weekend. The attached swimming pool is always open to both men and women.[2]