guests and experience

The Rimski Vrelec Experience

Announcement of the opening of Rimski Vrelec in Österreichische Badezeitung, Vienna 29. June 1879.

The use of mineral springs for spa purposes has a long and rich tradition in Europe. In the Mežica Valley, it particularly increased in the 19th century, when Rimski Vrelec, with its Kotlje brine, became a popular destination for visitors from the wider area. The ceremonial opening of the spring on 29 June 1878 was a true celebration for Kotlje and its surroundings. More than a thousand guests attended, including the provincial governor, representatives of the nobility, prominent industrialists, and representatives of the Southern Railway. After a solemn mass and procession, a tour of the Kozarnica gorge beneath Uršlja Gora followed, and the day concluded with an evening dance. The ceremony was an introduction to the construction of the spa complex, which was officially opened on July 1, 1879 and eventually comprised several buildings.

Postcard: Greetings from Rimski vrelec Spa, Carinthia; sent 19. September 1899.
Rimski vrelec at the end of the 19th century.
By the lake at Rimski vrelec in the 1960s; photo by Ferdinand Oder.

The spa experienced its greatest boom under the ownership of Kosmas Schütz, who further secured the water source and completed extensive renovation in 1890. By 1895, an impressive manor with a swimming pool had been built, alongside which stood the Swiss Villa and a bathhouse with a landscaped park called Paulinenhaim. Guests enjoyed warm and cold baths, Kneipp therapies, a 300 m2 swimming pool, and the spa's specialty – a cold bath called “trout pond”.

In the first half of the 20th century, the complex was enriched with a power plant and electric lighting. After World War II, its operators from Pula renovated it and increased accommodation capacity to fifty beds.