Maria's Bath
The 18th-century open-air wooden pool astounds with its thermal water and stories of the past.
Once Maria's Bath, located by a chapel. Today an attraction with beneficial effects!
The wooden pool in the spa park at Terme Šmarješke Toplice is the oldest pool in the spa's open-air pool complex. According to some sources, it was built as early as the end of the 18th century. It was named Maria's Bath after Queen Maria, wife of King Alexander, early in the 20th century, and a chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes was built near it. With water burbling under the statue of Virgin Mary, the chapel soon became a popular meeting point for the locals.
The sides of the wooden pool are made of oak and the bottom of spruce planks. No concrete or ceramic tiles at all. Instead, beneath the wood, which has not been chemically treated in any way, is a compacted clay barrier that prevents the water from seeping into the ground. The pool undergoes renovation every 20 years or so, and it is remarkable for its water recirculation system. Fresh thermal water flows into it at all times, so all the water in it is completely replaced in just a few hours. This ensures that the water temperature and the abundance of healthful substances in it are preserved to the highest extent possible. The pool is drained every night and then refilled by the next morning with fresh and clean thermal water, with all its healing properties intact.
