Where is the biggest spa in the world?
About four years ago, on the homepage of the Hungarospa Hajdúszoboszló, there was a large banner proclaiming:
”THE LARGEST THERMAL COMPLEX IN EUROPE”.
Later, I found myself pondering this enigma:
“but then which one is the largest in the world, if not the Hungarospa?”
When typing ‘largest thermal complex/spa in Europe’ into Google (and even Bing, try it and see), the same obvious answer will always be displayed in large font above your search results:
Therme Erding, located 37 km from Munich, Germany.
Whether searching for Europe or the world, the result will remain the same:
Therme Erding. The Wikipedia page of Therme Erding also claims that it is ‘the largest thermal bath complex in Europe’.
Would search engines have difficulty pronouncing and memorising the very exotic name ‘Hajdúszoboszló’?
I invite you to compare below the total area covered by the purportedly biggest thermal spa in the world, the German Therme Erding, with the two biggest Hungarian ones;
I have produced measurements for all three in order to provide a precise answer.
Comparison of total owned or related space
For a first comparison, we will look at the total area owned by each spa, its various services and properties (car parks, green open spaces for relaxation, hotels and restaurants included in the compound).
Hungarospa Hajdúszoboszló = 340500 m²
Click to see the map and the perimeter!
Bükfürdő = 173600 m²
Click to see the map and the perimeter!
Therme Erding = 140700 m²
Click to see the map and the perimeter!
It is evident that the Erding is more condensed than the two Hungarian spas, which clearly offer much more in the way of natural spaces. Let’s try a more rigorous method of comparison.
Comparison of functional areas (pools and spa buildings)
In order to refine this comparison, we will now include only the functional surfaces of the spa, i.e. the buildings, the pools and their direct surroundings, the catering outlets and hotels directly connected to the buildings or the complex; those separated by a significant distance will not be counted. Also excluded will be non-built up open spaces and areas which are not directly functional, such as camping grounds, grass playgrounds, car parks, lakes, etc.
Hungarospa Hajdúszoboszló = 136100 m²
Click to see the map and the perimeter!
Therme Erding = 79500 m²
Click to see the map and the perimeter!
Bükfürdő = 33800 m²
Click to see the map and the perimeter!
As might be expected, the Bükfürdő’s surface area has seen a larger decrease than that of the other two with this second comparison, but Therme Erding’s count is still clearly inferior to that of the Hungarospa, even if we consider an important aspect that my analysis neglects: the level of complexity of Therme Erding’s infrastructure seems superior to the two Hungarian spas, which makes me think that its floors must add more functional area than the floors of the Hungarospa buildings. Even considering this point, it still seems obvious here that the Hungarospa IS the most extensive spa in the world until proven otherwise.
Creation of content:
Vincent LAURENT
Online tool used:
mapdevelopers.com
