Gentle
We then travel onwards to Bad Blumau.
Bad Blumau is a bathing complex from which the waters originate from a natural hot spring / hot springs.
The therme's own
website is not too clear on the origins of its water(s). Are there 3 springs? Vulkania:
'The two Vulkania® lakes get constantly fresh water from the Vulkania® spring so the water is free from chemical additives.
...
One can swim and recover in the millennium old, high mineralised Vulkania® water'.
The Melchior spring:
'The Melchior curative spring is the “gentle” and “mild” one. The water temperature of the mineral-rich spa water is 47.2 degrees Celsius as it flows out of the ground. It has its source at a depth of 970 metres, as a sodium hydrogen carbonate spring'.
Then there's the Baltasar spring which I believe is not utilised for bathing.
Additional info on the bathing complex and the origin of it's waters.
Blumau.com:
'The only geothermal power station in Europe is located in the east of Bad Blumau- here, energy in the form of heat and natural CO2 is extracted from the earth's mantle through a drilling process.
The water of the Vulkania® curative spring completes a true circle - first the 104°C hot water of the Vulkania® curative spring is used to generate energy, then it flows back to the heat exchangers of Rogner Bad Blumau before it finally returns to the first borehole where it is injected back into the earth.
The geothermal energy system of Rogner Bad Blumau is a showcase project not only for Europe, but the entire world. With this sensible and environmentally friendly way of using energy, Rogner Bad Blumau has a leading role in environmental awareness and protection.
A sustainable and self-contained cycle of water. Living in harmony with nature'.
On
Wikipedia there's this more info, concerning the waters origins it does add this (in German):
'Bereits in den 1970er Jahren wurde in der Region rund um Bad Blumau von der Rohöl-Aufsuchungs AG (RAG) nach Erdöl und Erdgas gebohrt. Anstelle von Öl und Gas wurde bei nahezu 3000 Metern Tiefe 100 °C heißes Wasser gefunden. Daraufhin wurde die Bohrung wieder verschlossen. Angeregt durch die allgemeine touristische Entwicklung in der Region, wandte sich einige Jahre später die Gemeinde, allen voran der damalige Gemeindesekretär Karl Semmler, an Robert Rogner. Dieser prüfte den Standort und ließ mit Zustimmung der steirischen Landesregierung die Quelle wieder fließen. Tatsächlich fand man heißes, eruptives Heilwasser, dessen Qualität die Erwartungen übertraf. Zur Nutzung des Heilwassers projektierte Robert Rogner Badeanlagen und in zwei Baustufen sollte ein Feriendorf geschaffen werden.
Probably the most startling part after circumventing the above, is that once one enters the swim area itself, it really is far removed from your perceptions of Hundertswasser's philosophy.
Through the door we enter an indoor area whereby the deck is packed with seemingless infinitive loungers; some with patrons lounging, other loungers stacked with towels. And more towels in heaps. Noise. Many persons moving around.
Is this how Hundertwasser perceived a sojourn must become?
We head for what we expect is a more sensible experience, notably expected of the sauna area.
No kids are allowed (why?).
However the expectation that this would mean a more balanced experience could be afforded is wishful thinking. Here too many persons are milling around and again here are even more stacks of towels, literally everywhere. Many empty loungers but covered in towels.
During the sauna stay we are not only surprised by the apparently many guests who seemingly reserve loungers with complete discard to others.
Others are disregarding the very few rules there are: smoking publicly, jumping directly from the sauna in the cold bath without taking a shower, using the facilities dressed, even using mobile phones in the sauna area itself.
The feeling is that the sauna area is in fact a little cramped. It consists of a small bar area, a large relax area with a number of different saunas veering off here. As well as a larger steamroom. Outside are a number of smaller saunas as well as a large sauna for Aufguss sessions. And a small hot pool.
Not too many facilities considering the entrance price. Though on the plus side the use of sauna facilities are not charged extra (as is quite common in other complexes throughout NW Europe). This might also explains why the sauna seems a bit overrun.
The Aufguss sessions were hourly, for one session (with Schnaps) there was a nominal extra charge. Others are free and were well utilized. One special session was an Aufguss which included a honey rub during the break. In the sauna, the honey remains liquid, however after air-cooling, one becomes sticky. A hot shower consequently removes the honey which has not been absorbed through the skin and a cool bath leaves one quite satisfied.
For those wishing to don swimmers there are quite a few hot pools inside in the main area as well a couple larger baths outside. For those sans, it's the little sauna corner alas.
There are a couple of restaurants attached and available, though their timings are not always obvious. Food was ok, mostly bio and service good.
Whipped
So what do others think?
The mainstream review sites are quite clear:
- Tripadvisor 4.5 stars (830+), though not all positive, also reflects the complete resort, not only the baths.
- Yelp 4.5 stars, but reviews are quite outdated.
- Thermencheck (German language): 4.8 stars (see also below).
- Google, 4.7 stars (6,000+ (!) reviews); for instance on 14th of March the first 22 reviews are all 5 stars. It does include the hotel and/or restaurants outside of the baths themselves.
In more details then. Starting with this from a mid-February Google review:
''Das einzige wirkliche Highlight ist die Architektur des Hauses. Ansonsten bewegt sich das Hotel im Durchschnittsbereich. Essen ist durchschnittlich, Zimmer sind durchschnittlich sauber (wenn man staubempfindlich ist eher unterdurchschnittlich sauber), die Saunalandschaft verhältnismäßig zu anderen preiswerteren Thermenhotels klein (von der Fläche her, Saunen gibt es dort genug). Das Personal ist immer freundlich.
Das Hotel ist für Saunaliebhaber in den Ferienzeiten eher nicht zu empfehlen, da es vor allem in diesem Bereich wirklich sehr eng wird.
Alles in allem ein durchschnittliches Hotel hinter einer, zugegeben sehr eindrucksvollen, Fassade.
The last sentence: average place with great facade!
I think one of the most completely foreign experiences I’ve ever had in Austria was going to a thermal spa or “therme”. For the first time, I went into a sauna. Not only did I go into a sauna full of naked people I don’t know, I also went in with naked people I DO know. (This sparked an interesting conversation with my partner, because he thought that being there with people I know very well would make me more comfortable, when in fact it was quite the opposite). It was really interesting because…it wasn’t big deal; no one really cared. Coming from somewhere where nudity is so controversial, it was sort of refreshing. Being in the sauna was also a really fun (and sort of humerous) event anyway. You sit in the sauna with a crowd of people, while the “sauna master” whips a towel around to make the room hotter [the Aufguss]. Then you get out and jump in a pool of freezing water. Once again, you get back into the sauna for round two where the room gets EVEN HOTTER; then at the end you get a schnapps shot to celebrate!
The therme we went to was also really beautiful. It’s called Rogner Bad Blumau which is located in Styria. It’s designed by the Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser (the guy who designed the Spittelau Waste Plant and Hundertwasserhaus), so the whole complex consists of mosaic buildings, even floors and lots of trees and plants. Even all of the rooves are covered in grass so if you were to look at it from above, you wouldn’t be able to see the buildings.
'Stellt euch vor, ich habe das erste Mal in meinem Leben einen Sauna Aufguss erlebt! So begeistert war ich noch nie von einer Sauna! Zwar hat mich meine Freundin versucht seit unserer Ankunft zu überreden, an einem Aufguss teilzunehmen, aber ich hatte ständig die Finnische Sauna im Kopf, deren trockene Hitze ich nicht aushalte, weshalb wir das den ersten Tag gemieden haben. Als ich dann auf der Tafel las, dass es einen Honig Aufguss gibt, war ich Feuer und Flamme und wollte diesen unbedingt miterleben. Nachdem die große Sauna umgebaut wird, wurden die Aufgüsse auf die kleineren aufgeteilt und wir mussten schnell sein, um überhaupt einen Platz zu bekommen. Beim ersten Mal hat es nicht geklappt und auch nach einer Stunde warten, wurde es Platztechnisch sehr knapp. Wie die Sardinen saßen wir zu 34 in der kleinen Sauna und warteten auf den Saunawart'.
'3. Rogner Bad Blumau Spa, Bad Blumau, Austria
Bad Blumau is a spa town located in the heart of the Styria region, Austria. The town has many attractions and hospitality facilities, including luxury hotels, exquisite food and wine, pristine nature, creative architecture and, above all, a 13-hectare large spa park.
The Rogner Bad Blumau thermal Spa was designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The thermal baths includes a unique 8.500 m2 spa area, a bathing area, a fitness room, a sauna area, and Vulkania hot springs (21-37°C). The Vulkania springs are made of a special composition of groundwater, with an extremely high mineral content: it is, indeed, the highest mineralized curative thermal water in the Styrian region.
Other than thermal water, Rogner Bad Blumau offers many other activities, like therapies, massages, beauty treatments etc.
The Rogner Bad Blumau Spa is a quiet place; therefore, the number of customers is limited. Make sure to reserve your admission to the spa well in advance!'
Possibly, it doesn't seem to be based on an experience. It's neither quiet, nor naturist friendly! More like we have a miniature corner for those who have forgotten their swimmers.
From Medium (Jun. 25, 2022), this experience:
Our favourite: ROGNER BAD BLUMAU a south-east Austrian spa was designed by eccentric Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Fed by two curative springs, it boasts a Dead Sea salt grotto alongside its pools, saunas and treatment rooms. The outdoor pool Vulcania is other worldly at night., We were sorry we didn’t stay in the attached hotel. Visited December 2014. Photo and text by Keeley Schroder
'Having navigated a few friends through the basics when visiting Therme Wien & the glorious Rogner Bad Blumau therme, I figured it was time to enlighten you guys on how on Earth you could actually enjoy your time at a Therme & Sauna in Austria, without being worried or awkward the whole time.
...
Once you have your bearings a little and put your stuff down, the most important thing you have to do before swimming, before naked sauna exploration, is shower off.
This is the rules at any Austrian swimming pool, and is just good hygeine practise anyway.
...
Know that no one - literally no one - is interested in, looking at, judging or appraising your body in Sauna. They are there for their own relaxation and entirely comfortable in their bodies.
Therme time is not a leery, creepy hookup situation - you're more likely to be seeing people your parents age or older lying back snoring on a sun lounger than anything remotely sexy.
So my loving advice is - get over yourself, to liberate yourself.
...
Rogner Bad Blumau - an absolute dream hotel, spa and wellness retreat in the naturally occurring hot springs of Styria in southern Austria.
Visiting Rogner Bad Blumau is a must-do experience, as not only do they have the fantastic outdoor 'volcano' healing hot springs, luxurious treatments and delicious restaurants, but all the architecture of the resort is magically designed to imitate nature.
Freidrich Hundertwasser is the famous architect behind the other-worldly designs, and though his apartments in Vienna are cool, his creativity was truly set free in designing the Rogner Bad Blumau spa and wellness resort.
This is a truly special place to visit, and one of the most relaxing, unique experiences of my life. You can see just from the photos how special it is to visit.
Pricing: A day ticket during the week to Rogner Bad Blumau is €46 per adult, and they prefer you to reserve your space in advance in order to maintain the tranquility of the spa.
Alternatively, you can book yourself a short stay at the hotel to really lap up the experience - definitely recommended so you can enjoy the restaurant buffet which is one of the best of my life'.
Putting all this in perspective. Thermencheck has this (Dec. 7. 2022):
'Über 180.000 Personen gaben im Abstimmungszeitraum von 12 Monaten ihre Stimme ab und sorgten somit für eine noch nie dagewesene Beteiligung und eine gewichtige Wertigkeit dieser Branche!
ÖSTERREICHS BELIEBTESTE THERMEN SIND SOMIT:
GOLD Award Gewinner: ROGNER BAD BLUMAU
..
Exakt 37.546 Personen haben in den vergangenen 12 Monaten für das Rogner Bad Blumau im Steirischen Hügelwiesenland abgestimmt und diese somit zum 8. Mal in Folge zur unschlagbaren Therme Nummer 1 in Österreich gewählt.
Einzigartig, unnachahmlich und überraschend vielseitig – nicht nur durch die bunte Architektur von Friedensreich Hundertwasser und die Vulkania® Heilquelle, die stärkste und heißeste Heilquelle des gesamten Thermen- & Vulkanlands, sondern vor allem auch durch die gelebte Nachhaltigkeit und die besondere Herzlichkeit des Teams.
Ein wahrer Rückzugsort mit einer beachtlichen Gesamtfläche, denn seine Gäste dürfen sich hier auf eine Gesamtfläche von 420.000m², einen 8.500m² großen Wellnessbereich und eine über 3.000m² großen Wasserfläche freuen.
Hohe Qualität zeichnet sich hier wiederholt aus. Unendliche Ruhe, Wärme und Geborgenheit, das verspricht KR Rogner seinen Gästen und diese wählen sein Lebenswerk zum wiederholten Male an die Spitze des Landes. Herzliche Gratulation!'
Austria's best therme for eight years running!
My own ranking, based on the sauna only, a 7. Plenty of room for improvement.
