Did you know how SPA LÚČKY was created?

Why Lúčky? And who discovered the mineral springs?

Veľký Choč was once an unlimited ruler of a wide and uninhabited region. Deep, dark woods and some green meadows spread below it. It was only later that people came here with flocks of sheep and wandered from place to place, looking for good grass for the sheep to graze. They were Wallachians, free people. One of the valleys below Choč had many fertile meadows and got its name from them: Lúčanka (“the meadow valley”). The wandering Wallachians came here as well. There was plenty of tasty pasture here so the Wallachians settled here permanently.

The sheep of one shepherd who would take his flock to meadows below Malý Choč was extremely healthy and had a lot of milk. But one day one of his sheep suddenly got sick in its hind legs. It just dragged them along, couldn’t move them, and only grazed lying. The shepherd was really worried. He took great care of the sheep, always carrying it to places with plenty of tasty pasture, feeding it with medicinal herbs, but nothing helped it.

One cold autumn day the shepherd saw his sheep going to a spring which was running in a thick stream froma high rock. And when he looked more closely, he saw white vapour coming fromthe spring. He came closer to thespring, put his hand in it, andquickly took it out again. The water was hot. And then he thought of the sick sheep. He took it in his arms andput its hind legs into the hot spring. And, after he had done it a few times, the sheep´s legs miraculously began to get better, and then the sheep recovered completely.

The shepherd told his friends about the miracle and the news spread quickly. People who had health problems with their arms and legs began to go to the spring. And the spring became a real blessing for them. But the noblemen from Likava Castle also learned about the spring and took immediate action. The spring was channelled to a fenced pit in which people suffering from gout could bathe. And so Spa Lúčky was created from this spring.

Source: Miroslav A. Huska - Liptovské Povesti, Stredoslovenské vydavateľstvo, 1965.

In 2012, the spa celebrated the 300th anniversary of its first mention.

The surroundings of Lúčky were inhabited already in the Eneolithic period. There was a settlement with fluted pottery and a mass deposit of bronze vessels from the early Bronze Age was also found here. The oldest written report about the village of Lúčky dates back to 1266. The second oldest mention of the village is from 1287. The village was founded on the place that the inhabitants of Liptovská Teplá used as meadows. Since the 16th century Lúčky has belonged to Likava Castle manor.

In 1600 there were 17 inhabited houses, three abandoned ones and a mill. During the reign of Joseph II (1780 - 1790) Lúčky consisted of 85 houses with 680 inhabitants.

The healing effect of mineral springs, which even today are among the basic therapeutic treatments at the spa, has been known for a long time and has not just been discovered by modern medical science. Centuries of experience with the healing properties of the springs prove that they were sought by ill people already ages ago. In the 18th century, all thermal and cold springs in Liptov were known, but there was a lack of deeper knowledge about the nature and properties of the waters. Some mineral springs were known to have healing properties. They were actually natural waters that contained minerals. Knowledge of the waters was passed down from generation to generation and tradition played a role. Drinking and spa treatment was applied gradually. Thermal springs in particular began to be used for healing and spa facilities were built gradually.

The spa treatment in Lúčky was based on folk treatment and was built according to older traditions. It was applied only gradually; the construction of the first bigger spa houses cannot be identified with the establishment of the spa. The life around the springs in Lúčky got busier in 1760.

The well-known Slovak geographer Ján Matej Korabinský credited the landowner Adam Turanský with the establishment and improvement of the spa. Already then there was an inn with a stable and so Lúčky became not only a place of healing and rest but also a place of entertainment. Lúčky began to develop more at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The spa treatment was based on tried and tested methods; a certain spa regime was in force and the indications were determined according to the chemical analysis of the water. In addition to domestic guests, foreigners were also treated here.

In the 1860s, only Lúčky and Korytnica were listed as spa resorts in Liptov. In 1864, the spa house in Lúčky was rebuilt. In 1872 Ján Tholt bought the spa from the state and started its renovation. He rebuilt the spa house and combined the two pools into one which was more spacious. He had a hall added to the spa house. Accommodation was also improved by building more villas and guests had access to a new restaurant.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the spa in Lúčky regained its popularity and prospered to a certain extent, which meant maintaining and sometimes even increasing the number of visitors, even though it was a smaller resort. Clients came here from the USA, Tsarist Russia, Vienna, Budapest, Romania, the Czech Republic.....

In September 1912 the shareholders from Lúčky submitted an application to the public administration committee of Liptov County for inclusion of Lúčky among the healing spas in the Hungarian Monarchy. In a five-page-long submission, they detailed the importance of the healing waters that had brought back health to many ill people. In the opinion of the chief official, the spa was suitable for classification as therapeutic, as it was equipped to a reasonable standard.

Modern research has added a scientific basis to the spa treatment. It was supported by climatic, chemical and biological research which has improved the methods of treatment. With its treatments, which included drinking mineral water, bathing in the healing spring, massages and various combinations, Lúčky returned health to various social classes. In 1916 a renowned expert, Dr. Viliam Hanko from Budapest, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, contributed to a new classification and chemical analysis of the mineral waters in Lúčky.

The Workers' Social Insurance Company in Bratislava played an important role in the development of Slovak spas. According to the law, it cared for the health of the insured persons and their families. From its resources it built and established hospitals and sanatoriums and improved spa centres. The beginning of the socialist era in the history of the spa industry was marked by Act No. 125 of 6 May 1948. Natural healing resources and spas were nationalised. The state thus acquired the right to dispose of the mineral springs and gained ownership of the spa property. Nationalisation ended in 1950. In the 1960s, new construction began, which increased the capacity of the spa and changed the overall appearance of the spa area.

Between 1960 - 1970 the number of beds increased to 196 but the existing capacity was no longer sufficient as the demand for the spa by patients had increased rapidly.

In 1968, the construction of the Choč Spa House started and the construction of the Pension Spa House also started. At the same time, construction of a central boiler house began. The construction of the Choč Spa House increased the capacity by 160 beds and construction of the Pension Spa House by 21 beds. Construction of the necessary premises in the Choč Spa House created the conditions for cultural and social activities of the then patients.

In 1998 the Balneo Department was renovated to its present form. All floors of the Choč Spa House and Pensions A and B were gradually renovated.

In 2008 the new AQUA - VITAL Park was built with plans for it to be continuously expanded. However, we are still working on improving the environment and services in the spa, which will help increase the satisfaction of all clients.