Wojciech Spa House in Lądek-Zdrój

A green dome topped with a lantern rises above the centre of Lądek-Zdrój, and beneath it warm water has been flowing for more than three hundred years. The Wojciech spa house was built in 1678–1680, modelled on the Turkish baths of Buda, and is the oldest and grandest building of a spa town regarded as the oldest within Poland’s present-day borders. Unlike many historic spa buildings, it is open to anyone – including its round pool under the dome.

History: a Turkish bath in the Sudetes

Lądek was already a place of healing in the Middle Ages: according to historical sources, its bathing facilities were destroyed by the Mongols returning from the Battle of Legnica in 1241, and in 1498 the “Jerzy” bath house was built over the spring of the same name. Work on the “New Bath House”, known as Marienbad, began in 1678. In 1878–1880 the building was remodelled in neo-Baroque style and took on its distinctive silhouette. It was listed as a historic monument in 1971 and restored several times between 1974 and 1998.

Famous guests came here to bathe. From 5 to 24 August 1765 the Prussian king Frederick II took the cure in Lądek. Other visitors included the future US president John Quincy Adams, Ivan Turgenev, the folklorist Oskar Kolberg and Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł, and after the war politicians from Józef Cyrankiewicz to Lech Wałęsa.

What to see

• The rotunda: a two-storey circular building with four projecting entrance wings, pediments, porticoes and pilasters. The town’s coat of arms sits above the main entrance.
• The dome and lantern: the central dome is crowned by a tall lantern with paired columns and a smaller cupola with dormer windows. The best view is from the paths of the nearby spa park.
• The Turkish-bath interior: the Wojciech spring rises inside and feeds a round pool, surrounded by 19th-century marble tubs once used for bubble baths.
• The pump room on the upper floor.

Water and treatments

Lądek is known for its radon-bearing thermal waters containing sulphide and fluoride. They are used mainly for rheumatic, orthopaedic and neurological conditions. The ground floor of Wojciech offers treatments with mineral water and peloid mud, such as bubble baths, showers and whirlpool baths, and there is a spa hotel upstairs.

Tripto tip

The thermal pool is open to day visitors Monday to Friday 08:45–18:15, Saturday 11:45–18:15 and Sunday 11:00–15:45. Entry costs PLN 40, or PLN 42 at weekends and on public holidays (operator’s 2026 price list). The spa recommends booking in advance and requires a swimming cap, towel, flip-flops and swimwear; it also announces occasional technical closures, so check the spa’s website before you go. Half an hour is enough for the exterior and the pump room; allow 1.5–2 hours if you want to swim. Nearby, the Castle on the Rock in Trzebieszowice and the Bear Cave in Kletno are worth a detour.