Rajecké Teplice (German: Bad Rajetz) is a town located in the Žilina region. The 4th smallest city in Slovakia in terms of population. The natural thermal spas in this city are among the most famous and attractive in Slovakia. The municipality of Poluvsie also falls under the administration of Rajecké Teplice.
Natural attractions
The national nature reserve Kozol is located
here, which names the hill of the same name in the southeastern part of
the cadastre of the village in the mountains of Lúčanská Mala Fatra. The
reservation has an area of 91.58 hectares and is accessible by hiking
trails.
Cultural attractions
Chapel of the Assumption of the
Virgin Mary
Monument to those who died in the 1st World War
Church
of the Divine Heart of Jesus
Bath houses
Church of St. Cyril and
Methodius in Poluvsí
Spa
Thermal springs of 38 °C warm
bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium medicinal water are used as the main
balneotherapy agent in the spas without further treatment. Both
functional and degenerative diseases of the locomotor system are treated
here in the stage where acute symptoms have subsided. Conditions after
injuries or operations of large bearing joints and the spine are also
successfully treated here, including intervertebral disc operations and
operations using joint replacements. Of the nervous diseases, conditions
after polio, neuromuscular degenerative diseases, hemiparesis and
paraparesis of vascular origin, weak palsies except post-traumatic ones,
Parkinson's disease and some occupational diseases are treated in the
spa. As part of complex spa treatment, hydrotherapy procedures,
massages, a whole range of electrotherapeutic procedures, local
application of paraffin wraps, individual and group physical education,
manipulative treatment, gas injections and the like are provided. There
is a health center in operation in the city.
Sport
In the
city, in addition to spas and a thermal swimming pool, visitors can also
find a fitness center, tennis courts, mini golf, disc golf and the Rajec
golf park. Several bicycle routes pass through the city.
The spa town is located in the northern part of the Rajecka basin, approximately 10 km south of Žilina. Road I/64 leads through the city, leading from Žilina through Rajec and Fačkov to Prievidze, as well as the railway line Žilina - Rajec.
Tomato
Kunerad stream
Swan pond
The city and spas are part of two parks, one in the French style and the other in the English style.
In the blue shield of the coat of arms, above two silver wavy bars,
there is a golden sun of alternating rays.
After the granting of
city status in 1989, Rajecké Teplice created a new city coat of arms.
The latter is based on the symbolism of local springs, characterized by
wavy bands. Together with the symbol of the sun and the blue color of
the shield, the idea of the interaction of the sun, water and air and
their healing effects is appropriately evoked. The city adopted its coat
of arms on March 22, 1989.
The flag of the city consists of five
longitudinal stripes of the same width in the colors yellow, blue,
white, blue and yellow. The ratio of the sides is two to three and it is
finished with a notch, reaching one third of the length of the flag
leaf.
The symbols of the city of Rajecké Teplice are registered
in the Heraldic Register of the Slovak Republic under the signature
R-2/1991. The symbols of the city are also published in the book edition
of the Heraldic Register of the Slovak Republic.
According to archaeological findings, this area was
already inhabited in prehistoric times. However, the first written
mention comes from 1376 in a document of the Hungarian king Ludovít the
Great. The village has been mentioned in written sources since 1496 as
part of the Lietava manor, and it was successively owned by Ján
Zápoľský, Mikuláš Kostka, František Thurzo from 1558 and his son Juraj
Thurzo from 1585. He had the first "bathhouse" built here in 1610, where
he invited friends and held meetings. He had the surroundings of the
springs modified and the village experienced a boom. After his death in
1616, his possessions were divided among four heirs.
Another
revival came at the end of the 18th century, when the spa was restored.
In the 19th century, however, other disputes between the heirs appeared,
in 1882 the new owners renewed them and their popularity rose again,
especially after the visit of Archduke Karol Ľudovít with his wife and
other members of the imperial court in Vienna. At the initiative of the
new owners, the construction of the local railway on the Žilina - Rajec
line also began. In 1880, Rajecké Teplice became part of Konská again.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the spa was placed under judicial
administration, Ladislav Hauser was put in charge of it, but its decline
was completed by the First World War. He bought them back in 1919. Among
other things, he started the construction of a neo-Gothic church, which
was consecrated in 1909. Since 1903, the spa doctor Rudolf Flamm worked
in Rajecké Teplice. The First World War caused the decline of the spa
and thus the village, which was also affected by a flood in 1916. Only
in 1925, with a change of owner, did the renovation of the spa begin,
and in the 1930s, the spa was given its current form by the construction
of new buildings and a hotel. Development progressed even under the
Slovak state. In 1944, they were used by the Germans, and since the
outbreak of the SNP, in which many citizens joined, they were not
accessible at all. II had its seat in the Kunerad mansion. the partisan
brigade of M.R. Štefánik and the Germans burned it down. The German
troops did not leave the village until May 1, 1945.
In 1951, the
village became independent again, and in 1959 it acquired the status of
a spa resort. The next period is quite successful, the villages of
Stránske, Kunerad, Kamenná Poruba, Poluvsie and Konská were added to the
village.
On February 8, 1989, Rajecké Teplice received the status
of a city and the surrounding villages, except for Poluvsia, became
independent. On February 1, 1996, the state enterprise Slovenské
liečebné kúpele Rajecké Teplice was transformed into a joint-stock
company with the parts of Rajecké Teplice Natural Spa and Kunerad Spa
(in the mansion).
Ján Hollý (* 1912 – † 2007), teacher, naturalist and botanist, one of
the principals of the school in Rajecké Teplice.
Slovak writer Štefan
Letz lived in Rajecké Teplice for ten years (1950-1960) on a disability
pension. He started as a magazine writer in Mlad Slovakia and Vatra
(1923). He made his debut with the novella collection Obyvatelia dvora
(1927) and included the play Magdalen, which was staged by the Slovak
National Theatre. After the author's hiatus, he wrote a collection of
short stories Eminent Dubovič (1954), Dobrodružstvo pod vežu (1958). His
Novels (1977) were published after his death. Together with Ján Smrek,
he contributed to the promotion of original Slovak literature as editor
of the publishing house of Leopold Mazáč in Prague (1931 – 1939).
Together with Dobroslav Chrobák, they compiled the Slovak Literary
Almanac.
The poem about Rajecké Teplice was written by Ľudmila
Podjavorinská during her spa stay.
Jozef Gabčík, a member of the
Anthropoid operation, was born in the Poluvsie district of Rajecké
Teplíce.
Slovak carver and author of the Slovak nativity scene,
Jozef Pekara, lived and died in Rajecké Teplice.