Renovation of Budapest's Gellért baths at halfway stage

The first of two phases of renovation of the Gellért spa, consisting of modernisation of the women's thermal spa and replacement of the indoor pool's opening roof, has been completed

Chief Engineer of Budapest Gyógyfürdő Zrt. Ferenc Kiss told MTI that the spa is covering one third of the renovation costs, while the rest of the costs were won through a government tender. Work began in January and is expected to finish in March 2008. The second phase is the renovation of the men's thermal spa.

The ladies' locker room was rebuilt from wood, preserving the original 1917 structure. The outdated ventilation system of the Roman-style thermal pool has been modernized while the original Zsolnay ceramic tiles proved too expensive to replicate and were replaced by a different design of earlier style.

The opening roof of the pool moves on a special rail, which was replaced by a new one.

The chief engineer added that after the renovation works, the spa will probably be open from 6 am to 10 pm like the Széchenyi baths to meet a demand for longer hours.

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