The springs in Rudas Baths are mentioned in documents dating back to 1292. The directions from the Angevin era called them medical springs “searched for from far and wide”.
The history of the Rudas Baths
Before the Turkish conquered Hungary, the area belonged to the Archbishop of Kalocsa.
During the Turkish reign, the original construction of the bath was repaired by Ali Pasha from Budapest in 1556, then Sokollu Mustafe rebuilt it and named it Zöldoszlopos (Green Pillars) bath (in Turkish: Yeşil Direkli Ilıca).
It received this name because among the eight columns that were holding the ceiling one of them was green.
Evlija Celebi, a Turkish world traveler (1611-1682) gives a detailed description of the bath:
“Around this large pool, under the eight arches, there are eight backhand basins. There are also glamorous, clean and free from dirt masseurs, who wrapped their white body in indigo blue towels. They are in the booths at the service of the bathers, and clean them according to their requests. The wall of the changing room is square from the outside, with a huge, wide dome covered in shingle on top of it, which would fit a thousand of Muslim fighters under it.”
A bath over 450 years old
After the end of the Turkish reign, the bath became the property of the Imperial and Royal Treasury, then in 1703, Emperor and King Lipot I donated it to the Buda city along with a donation letter.
Therefore the Rudas Bath is one of the oldest, over 300 years old, still functioning institution, not only in the capital but also in the country.
Distribution of the Rudas Bath
The elongated building of the bath consists of three parts: the area in the south was completely rebuilt in 2014 as a wellness area. Its charm is the outdoor pool, established on the southern part of the roof, from where the bathers can observe the traffic at the port and the Danube.
Panorama from outdoor pool
North from here, the pool’s building can be found, and at the northern end of the building complex is the bath with the dome from the Turkish era. Between the Turkish bath and the pool is the hall.
The pools in Rudas Bath
The Rudas Bath has its own indoor swimming pool, which is the warmest thermal bath in Budapest, with 29°C. The pool is divided into two sections. A sauna can also be found in this hall.
Rudas swimming pool
At a separate part of the building, the steam bath can be found. Here is the hottest medicinal pool in Budapest, with 42°C. In the steam bath, there are another three thermal (30, 33, 36°C) and a lukewarm (28°C), as well as a cold (16°C) pool, can be found.
The waters of the bath
There are 21 thermal springs near the Rudas Bath, the biggest are Árpád I, II, III, Beatrix, Mátyás, Gül Baba, Török, Kossuth, Kara Musztafa and Rákóczi, as well as Hygieia és a Diána (these last two mainly fed to the swimming pool).
In the drinking hall, water from the Attila- (sulfur), the Hungária- (hydrogen carbonate) and the Juventus-spring (radium) can be drunk.
The exploration and the study of the springs were completed by Gyula Weszelszky at the beginning of the 20th century.
Medical recommendations
Bathing is recommended for the people struggling from degenerative diseases in the joints, chronic and semi-acute joint inflammation, disc herniation, neuralgia, and the deficiency of the bones.
Water composition:
Hot spring water with calcium-magnesium hydrogen carbonate and sulfate.
Normal opening hours
Pool-wellness opening hours
Pool: 06:00 – 22:00
Wellness-sauna world: 08:00 – 22.00
Steam Bath opening hours
Everyday: 06:00 – 20:00
Female day: Tuesday
Male days: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Joint day with swimwear: Saturday, Sunday *
* TIP: If you want to try steam bath then I highly recommend the weekends instead of Female or Male days! You could be disappointed when you see some naked old mens.
Nighttime bathing:
Friday and Saturday: 22.00-04.00 (social)
The sauna world does not operate.
Bathtub opening hours
Monday-Friday: 08:00-20:00
Checkout closes an hour before closing times. The closure of swimming pools happens 15 minutes prior to closing time.
Drinking water opening times
Monday-Wednesday-Friday: 11:00-18:00
Tuesday-Thursday: 07:00-14:00
Closed on weekends.
The prices of the Rudas Baths in 2022:
Prices are in Forint. You can check the real time rates here.
| Thermal tickets | Weekdays | Weekends |
| All in: Thermal-swimming pool-wellness ticket with locker usage | 5500 | 6900 |
| Thermal ticket with cabin usage | 4000 | 4700 |
| Thermal and swimming pool ticket with locker usage | 4700 | 5400 |
| Night ticket (Friday, Saturday: 10 pm – 4 am) * | 7000 | 7000 |
*Adults only!
| Swimming pool tickets | Weekdays | Weekends |
| Swimming pool-wellness ticket with locker usage | 3800 | 5200 |
| Morning swimming ticket with locker usage | 2200 |
