The origins of the Spa

While many of us associate traditional spas with Roman baths, the origins of spa-type therapies extends to prehistoric times with the belief in the curative powers of mineral waters. Paul Joseph, co-founder of Health and Fitness Travel, the leading experts in tailor-made wellness holidays worldwide explains: “Spas, healing waters, thalassotherapy, hydrotherapy and hot springs date back to thousands of years – an ancient practice conducted long before the Greeks and Romans!”

One of the first accounts of bathing used as a curative process rather than a simple hygiene ritual was written by ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates, who was active between 460 and 370 B.C. Hippocrates proposed that the cause of all ailments was an imbalance of bodily fluids, and advocated that: “The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day.” This principle is known as balneotherapy, and is the founding principle of spa-going, influencing everything from mineral-infused treatments to thalassotherapy – swimming in seawater to heal the skin.

As Swim University explains, no-one knows exactly when the word ‘spa’ began to be associated with these healing practices. However, there are two main theories on the term’s etymology. One is that the word spa in Latin is an acronym of “salus per aquae”, meaning “health from water.” Others believe the word spa comes from a small Belgian village called Spa, where hot mineral springs were used by Roman soldiers to treat aching muscles and wounds from a battle. Whatever the true origin, the oldest Roman spa still in existence today can be found in Merano, Italy.

In their early history, the primary use of curative baths was indeed to heal the wounds of Roman soldiers during the reign of Caesar Augustus from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. At this time, there were approximately 170 baths in Rome, but by 43 A.D. citizens of Rome began to view baths as form of rest and relaxation for all. In 70 A.D. the Romans built a spa around the hot springs at Bath, the first of its kind in Britain.

It was around the year 1300 that natural springs began to be called ‘spas’. In 1326, Collin le Loup, an ironmaster from Liège, Belgium, discovered the chalybeate springs in the town of Spa, Belgium. Around these springs, a famous health resort eventually grew and the term “spa” came to refer to any health resort located near natural springs, with individual springs being associated with the disease they were thought to benefit.

However, it was not only in Greece and Rome that rituals associated with spa-going were developing. From Japanese “Ryoken” to Turkish Hammams and saunas in Finland, different healing facilities were growing, many of which are now mainstays of any spa. By the Elizabethan era, the hot springs at Bath were incredibly popular, and spas attracted many visitors searching for cures to various illnesses.