Kraków Spa Pump Room

In 1898 Antoni Mateczny was digging a well for his new house at the end of Kalwaryjska Street. Late in the day water with a strong, sulphurous smell gushed out – the workers were alarmed, but Mateczny, a regular visitor to Karlsbad, immediately recognised a healing water. That was the start of a Kraków spa whose legacy lives on in the Kraków Spa Pump Room (Krakowska Pijalnia Zdrojowa), opened in the park by the Mateczny roundabout after its restoration in 2021.

History of the Mateczny spa

Antoni Mateczny was a Czech born in Cieszyn Silesia; he came to Kraków in the 1880s while building the Żywiec–Kraków railway line and Polonised his name from "Matečny". Sulphate waters had been found here in the mid-19th century, but nobody was interested because of the unpleasant smell. On 25 September 1905 Mateczny opened the Sulphur-Brine Bathhouse in Podgórze, then a separate town. Its guests included Stanisław Wyspiański, artists of the Young Poland movement and Kraków's mayor Juliusz Leo. During the 20th century the bathhouse declined; the park and spa buildings were restored and reopened in 2021. The roundabout has only borne Mateczny's name since 1992.

Two waters

The water from the springs by the roundabout is estimated to be about 10,000 years old. The pump room serves two waters:

• Mateczny Zdrój – a highly mineralised medicinal water of the sulphate-chloride-sodium-magnesium-calcium, sulphide type, with about 970 mg of sulphate ions per litre. As a medicinal water it should be drunk in moderation.
• Anton – a water with reduced mineralisation which, according to the pump room, can be drunk without limits.

You can drink the water on the spot from copper taps or buy it bottled. Mateczny Zdrój comes both still and sparkling.

What to see

• The brick pump room with a colonnade and large glazed doors at ul. Wadowicka 1b.
• Mateczny's former bathhouse with its tall chimney bearing the words "Park Zdrojowy" (Spa Park).
• The Spa Park with its avenue and pavilions, where "Sunday Mornings with Viennese Music" concerts continue a tradition from Mateczny's time.

Tripto tip

The pump room is open Monday to Friday 11:00–18:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays 11:00–19:00. Allow 30–45 minutes for a walk in the park and a taste of both waters. Warn children that Mateczny Zdrój smells of sulphur – that is a sign of its composition, not that it has gone off. The pump room lies in the old district of Podgórze, so the visit fits easily into a walk around the area.