Great Spas of Europe

Bath is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and could be in the running to receive a second nomination.

To show the influence of spas on European culture, in 2008 UNESCO specified that spa towns could be inscribed on the World Heritage list, and asked for the best examples of European spas to be put forward.

At this stage Bath was acknowledged as a highly influential historic spa and invited to join the ‘Great Spas of Europe’ project. This project features 16 spa towns from seven countries.

Bath & North East Somerset Council has been supporting the bid by producing evidence of Bath’s global significance as a spa town.

To be considered, each spa town or city must have their respective Government backing. There is a considerable amount of work which goes into the bid, to justify that a place is of such outstanding international significance to validate this prestigious inscription.  Bath’s bid has now been assessed by Minister, Tracey Crouch, who approved the draft nomination and offered her full support for the project. If all progresses well, this could lead to Bath being inscribed in 2018 as one of a minority of places in the world recognised twice on the UNESCO list.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones (Conservative, Lansdown), Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “I am delighted that the Minister has chosen not only to approve the work undertaken so far but also to offer her full support.  Heritage is an important driver for the local economy and this bid represents an investment for the future.”

Cllr Cherry Beath (LibDem, Combe Down) is lead Councillor on this project. She said: “This project puts us amongst the elite of European spas and promotes the substantial ‘wellness’ offer of Bath. It is the result of several years’ work and is an excellent example of European co-operation.”

Throughout 2016 and 2017, a full nomination will be put together before the formal submission to UNESCO in 2018.

Currently there are only 16 other spa towns in the bid, but only half of these are likely to make the World Heritage List. The other spas are from Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Austria. They include famous spa towns such as Spa, Belgium and Baden Baden, Germany.

The bid recognises aspects such as ‘taking the cure’, early diagnostic medicine around spas, development of early mass tourism, the rules of a polite society, the ‘diversions’ (amusements) put in place for visitors and the unique urban forms that resulted from these practices.