What is being built?

A new chapter begins in the life of the Miskolctapolca Cave Bath: large-scale reconstruction begins

Published

2025. 12. 15. 08:15
Photo: www.barlangfurdo.hu
The first phase of restoration following the fire will cost nearly 768 million forints. The development will affect the entire electrical, mechanical and architectural systems of the baths.

Due to a fire that occurred at the Miskolctapolca Cave Bath in September 2024, the bath is currently closed to visitors. The results of the tender for the renovation work have been published in the public procurement notices here. The reconstruction of the baths will be carried out by Miskolc-based DHJ Építő Kft. at a cost of nearly HUF 768 million. According to information from boon.hu, the site will be handed over to the contractor shortly.

The renovation will affect a significant part of the building: the lobby and more than 1,000 square metres of the main building will be modernised, as will the nearly 420 square metre changing rooms and 111 square metres of the thermal pools. The mechanical and electrical room covering nearly 500 square metres and the cave section totalling approximately 836 square metres will also be renovated.

Comprehensive mechanical renovation is taking place

The works cover an area of almost 500 square metres in the bath hall, and the hall's nearly 700 square metre roof structure will also be renovated. The current contract covers the implementation of phase I/A, which involves the complete modernisation of the high-voltage network and the installation of new IT, telephone, camera surveillance, sound, fire alarm and heat and smoke extraction systems, as well as the creation of accessible toilets.

The mechanical engineering improvements include the renewal of the fire water supply, the water and sewerage network, the heating centre, the gas boilers, the underfloor heating and the ventilation systems. The architectural works include the renovation of the roof of the main building and the bath hall, as well as the necessary structural reinforcements. The plumbing works include the modernisation of the footbath hydraulics, while the building automation system will be equipped with a unified control system.

Due to the unique characteristics of the cave bath, much of the work is being carried out underground, in natural and artificial tunnels, where approximately 1,100 metres of new electrical wiring is also being installed.

They are preparing another instalment

The contracting authority, the municipality of Miskolc, indicated in the notice that, in parallel with the current project, there is an opportunity to launch the second phase (I/B) under a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a notice. This may include further developments closely related to the basic project, which will again affect the high- and low-voltage systems, the mechanical engineering, and certain architectural elements of the bath hall, the cave and the main building.

Bathroom story

The healing properties of the water and the area have been known since the early 18th century. According to information on the spa's website, there is no other cave with water this warm, at 30 °C.

We already know of a wooden bathhouse from 1743. The real development of Miskolctapolca began at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1934, it was officially designated a resort, making it essential to build a new, European-standard bathhouse to replace the old one. The new baths were built between 1939 and 1941.

On 28 May 1941, the baths were handed over, forming the basis of the building complex that can still be seen today. The shell pool was built in 1969 and has become one of the symbols of the Cave Baths.

The exploration of further cave passages began in the early 1980s, and two decades later, between 1998 and 2005, these passages were converted into bathing facilities. At the turn of the millennium, the largest expansion in the history of the baths took place, lasting nearly seven years.

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