Lázně Luhačovice will transform Jurkovič's buildings into a museum

photo: National Heritage Institute

Luhačovice (Zlínsko) – The Luhačovice Spa is preparing the revitalization of the area of the Hydrotherapy Institution and the River and Sun Baths. A museum will be created there. The work is expected to start at the beginning of next year and be completed by the end of 2022, said Eduard Bláha, the general director of Luhačovice Spa, to ČTK today.

The buildings were designed by Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič. The hydrotherapy baths were created between 1901 and 1902 by remodeling the Jestřabský Mill from 1710. The interior of the two-story relaxation room, in its original form without changing cabins, is considered the most significant interior space that Jurkovič created in Luhačovice. The River and Sun Baths were completed in 1903. The area has long been deteriorating, and the spa offered it for sale, but no buyer was found.

The museum is intended to commemorate the history of spa treatment in Luhačovice, as well as the personality of Jurkovič, who significantly influenced the appearance of the spa, and composer Leoš Janáček, who often visited the Moravian spa. "We want to connect these personalities and the themes of architecture and music," Bláha stated.

The Sun Baths will no longer be able to serve for bathing. "From the original cabins, a colonnade will be created, and the original water surface should be an interactive water area," Bláha said.

The project is expected to cost about 120 million crowns, with 75 percent of the costs covered by a European grant. Today, after nearly a year of reconstruction, the Vincentka hall was ceremoniously opened in the spa area, and the reconstruction of the adjacent colonnade will be completed by November. According to Bláha, the revitalization of the Hydrotherapy Institution and the River and Sun Baths will be more challenging. "There is a lot of wood and murals; restoring and renovating it will not be easy," he stated.

The museum part is expected to be reduced later, and a closed accommodation complex with indoor and outdoor pools should be created.