Piestany
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Template:Titlelacksdiacritics Template:Infobox Slovak town Piešťany (German: Pistyan, Hungarian: Pöstyén) is a spa town in western Slovakia located on the Váh river.
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Geography
Piešťany is located in western part of Slovakia, in the valley of the Váh river, at an altitude of 162 m. Považský Inovec mountains form the east boundary of this part of the Váh valley. The highest hill of these mountains, Inovec (1042 m), is about 25 km northest from the town. Hills immediately east of the town (about 10km away) reach height about 700 m. On the west side, the valley boundary is formed by Little Carpathians, which are somewhat lower and further away from the town. The valley is open to the south, and thus has warm and sunny temperate climate.
Most of the town is located on the right bank of the river. South of the town is Sĺňava water reservoir created by a dam on the Váh river. Artificial canal Biskupický kanál and the main river branch join in the town. Another short branch of the river (Obtokové rameno) creates the Spa Island.
The hills of Považský Inovec are mostly covered with deciduous forests. These consists of oak and hornbeam in lower parts, beech in upper parts. The Váh valley is used for agriculture. The main products are cereals, sugar beet, animal feed, and pork.
Piešťany is located 75 km north-east from Bratislava, capital of Slovakia and 30 km north-east from the local regional seat Trnava. Upstream from Piešťany on the Váh river are towns Nové Mesto nad Váhom (19 km north from Piešťany) and Trenčín (40 km north-east), 17 km downstream is Hlohovec.
Piešťany is located on the route of the D1 motorway from Bratislava to Žilina with connections to Vienna and Brno. The main railway route from Bratislava to Žilina and Kosice also goes through the town. Town has an airport used mostly for international charter flights for spa clients (in 2004 it was used by 6,000 passengers). The town operates local public transit with 11 bus routes (as of 2005).
Spa
Napoleonske_kupele_Piestany.JPG
Piešťany spa has capacity 2 thousand beds (as of 2004) and treats over 40 thousand patients per year. More than 60% of clients are foreigners (mostly from Germany, Czech Republic, Israel, Arab countries, and Austria). The spa specializes in treatment of chronic rheumatic and arthritic diseases and post-accident lesions of joints and bones.
The spa is located on the Spa Island between two branches of the Váh river, at the site of several hot springs with temperature 67-69 °C. The water originates in a tectonic break at 2,000 meters depth. The sulfate-carbonate water from the springs is used in pools and tubs. Sulfurous mud extracted from the bed of a side channel of the river is also used for treatment in the form of thermal mud pools with temperature 39 °C and for partial and full body packs. Spring water and mud therapy is complemented by electrotherapy, excercise, massage, medication, and diet.
History
First human settlement of the area dates to prehistoric times, about 80,000 years ago. People were attracted to the area by abundance of game in the vicinity of thermal springs that were not freezing in winter.
A small female statue called Venus of Moravany was found in a nearby village Moravany nad Váhom. It is made of mammoth ivory and dates to 22,800 BC. Today it is located in the museum in Bratislava Castle. Another nearby village, Krakovany-Stráže, was a site of discovery of a collection of luxury items from glass, bronze, silver, and gold in three graves from 200 - 300 AD.
Piešťany was first mentioned in written records in 1113 (under the name Pescan). At that time it consisted of several smaller settlements. The medicinal springs were used already in Middle Ages. They were visited for example by the king Matthias Corvinus. The first book mentioning the Piešťany springs was "De admirandis Hungariae aquis hypomnemation" (About the Miraculous Waters of the Hungarian Monarchy) by Georgius Wernher, published in 1549 in Basel. In the 16th and 17th centuries Piešťany suffered Turkish raids and anti-Habsburg uprisings.
Throughout the centuries Piešťany were owned by several noble families; last of them, Erdődys, owned the area from 1720 to 1848, and the spa until 1940. Erdődys built the first spa buildings in 1778. They were damaged by destructive flood in 1813. In 1820 the spa buildings were expanded and remodeled in neo-classical style and named Napoleon spa. Erdődys also established the Spa park in this period. In the years 1889 to 1940 Winter family rented the spa from Erdődys and developed them to international fame. They improved spa treatment as well as accommodation and entertainment for visitors. They have built several spa buildings and hotels.
In 1945 Piešťany received the official status of a town, and in 1996 it became a seat of a district (okres). In 1959, Sĺňava water reservoir was built south of town. In late 1960s and 1970s more spa buildings were built. In 1973 village Banka, located on the left bank of the Váh river, was amalgamated to Piešťany, but it regained independence after a referendum in 1995.
July 5, 2001 three members of Irish Republican Army (IRA) were arrested in Piešťany. They were lured to a trap by agents of British secret service MI5 who were posing as arms dealers from Iraq.
References
- Template:Citenews
- Vladimír Krupa (2001) "Kúpele Piešťany (http://www.snm.sk/old/pamiatky/pam2001_1b.htm#Vladim%EDr%20Krupa)". Pamiatky a múzeá (http://www.snm.sk/old/pamiatky/index.htm) 1/2001. Published by Slovak National Museum.
- Gabriela Kvetanová (2001) "Napoleonské kúpele v Piešťanoch (http://www.snm.sk/old/pamiatky/pam2001_1c.htm#Gabriela%20Kvetanov%E1)". Pamiatky a múzeá (http://www.snm.sk/old/pamiatky/index.htm) 1/2001. Published by Slovak National Museum.
- Ondrej Franko (1998).Piešťany-thermal H2S water and mud (http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s002540050337). Environmental Geology 36(3-4), 215-218.
- John W Lund (September 2000) "Geothermal Spas in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (http://geoheat.oit.edu/bulletin/bull21-3/art11.pdf)". Geo-Heat Center Bulletin 21(3). Oregon Institute of Technology.
External links
- Official site of Piestany town (http://www.piestany.sk)
- Official webpage of the spa (http://www.spa-piestany.sk/)
- Piestany tourist guide (http://www.piestany.net)hu:Pöstyén