Paris: a group of European major spa cities added to a list of very valuable world heritage on Saturday for “extraordinary testimony for European spa phenomena” from the 18th century to the 1930s, said UNESCO.
These include Baden Bei Wien in Austria, Spa in Belgium, Karlovy Vary, Frantiskovy Lazne and Marianske Lazne in the Czech Republic, Vichy in France, Bad EMS, Baden-Baden and Bad Kissingen in Germany, and bathing in Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The World Heritage Committee, a meeting in China for the annual session to review the list of world heritage sites, the group said it captured “the most fashionable, dynamic, and international spa cities among hundreds of which contributed to the European spa phenomenon”.
“While each spa city is different, all cities develop around mineral water sources, which are catalysts for spatial organizational models dedicated to curative, therapeutic, recreational and social functions,” he said.