In 2021, Spa became part of the transnationalUNESCO World Heritage Site theGreat Spa Towns of Europe, for its famous mineral springs and architectural testimony to the rise of European bathing culture in the 18th and 19th centuries.[4][5]
Among the various hypotheses put forward as to theetymological origin of the nameSpa is that of "gushing spring", from theLatinsparsa meaning "scattered" and "gushing", past participle ofspargere ("scatter", "sprinkle" or "moisten").[6][7] Another connects the word to the meaning of "free space", from theWalloonspâ and from the Latinspatia, plural ofspatium.[6]
The place has been known sinceRoman times, when the location was calledAquae Spadanae.[8] For this reason, the city's name is sometimes presented as the acronym of various Latin phrases, such assalus per aquam orsanitas per aquam, meaning "health through water";[9] it is in reality abackronym, an a posteriori fabrication of a fictitious acronym.
The termSpa has since becomeeponymous with any place having a natural water source that is believed to possess special health-giving properties, known as aspa.
As the site of cold springs with alleged healing properties, Spa has been frequented as a "water-taking" place sinceclassical antiquity.Pliny the Elder (died 79 CE) noted, "There is a famous spring inTungri, a state of Gaul, whose water, sparkling with bubbles, has a ferruginous taste that is only noticeable when the drink is finished. This water purges the body, cures third-grade fevers and dispels calculous affections. The same water, put on the fire, becomes cloudy and eventually turns red." (C lib. XXXI VIII)[10]
Thespa town grew in theMiddle Ages, in the oldest iron and steel centre ofLiège Province. Theban Spa was created around 1335 and included two urban concentrations:vilhe of Creppe andvilhe Spas, 2 km (1.2 mi) away. Prior to the exploitation of mineral water, thesteel industry developed communication lines, which made it possible to develop the spa town.[citation needed]
Print of Spa, c. 1895
As early as 1547, Agustino, physician to the King of England,Henry VIII, stayed in Spa and helped give knowledge to the world of the value of the Spa water. In 1559, Gilbert Lymborh wrote of "acid fountains of the Ardennes forest and primarily those located in Spa". It was translated intoLatin, Italian and Spanish. In July 1565, the gentry of the provinces met in Spa under the pretext oftaking the waters. At the hotel "Aux Armes d’Angleterre", those present agreed to oppose the edicts ofPhilip II as austere and intolerant; this led to the historic 1566 "Compromise of Nobles". In 1654, the stay of the exiled pretender to the English throne,Prince Charles, brought even greater fame to Spa. From 1699, a postal system was set up between Spa and the outside world.[citation needed]
Since the 18th century,casinos have been located in Spa.[11] The town continued to grow as a fashionable resort in the 19th century, and was extended during the reign ofKing Leopold II. Buildings such as the Thermal Baths (1868), the PouhonPeter the Great (1880), and the Leopold II Gallery (1880) date from this period.
KaiserWilhelm II and his staff at Villa du Neubois in Spa in 1918
DuringWorld War I, Spa operated as an important German convalescent hospital town between 1914 and 1917. In 1918, theGerman Army established itsprincipal headquarters in Spa,[12] and from there the delegates set out for the French lines to meetMarshal Foch and to sue for peace in the consultations leading up to theArmistice that ended the First World War.[13] The general headquarters ofKaiserWilhelm II were, in 1918, the last place where he resided before hisabdication due to the German surrender. In July 1920, the town hosted theSpa Conference, a meeting of theSupreme Council, which dealt with thewar reparations owed by the defeatedReich to theAllies.[citation needed]
TheCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps was established in 1921, in the vicinity of Spa. Despite its name, the racetrack has never been located within Spa: it is instead in the nearby town ofStavelot.[14]
World War II saw Spa reoccupied by the Germans, but the town escaped theBattle of the Bulge in 1945 that stopped, luckily for Spa, right at its gates. TheMarshall Plan helped Belgium to recover quickly. In the 1950s and 1960s, mass tourism gradually developed, diminishing Spa's reliance on the elite as customers. These were decades of social tourism as well, with an increasingly large number ofFlemish and Dutch customers, while theWalloons wenten masse to the Belgian coast in Flanders. Relaxation tourism replaced the thermal aspect of Spa.[citation needed]
The 1980s and 1990s heralded the start of a renewal of the infrastructure and influence of Spa. On 17 May 1983, to mark the 400th anniversary of the export of Spa waters, HM KingBaudouin visited the new facilities of the Spa Monopole SA, the Henrijean Hydrology Institute and the Thermal Establishment.[15] In 1994, a new French song festival started:Les Francofolies de Spa.[16] In 1997, the area of Spa-Bérinzenne opened the Regional Center for Initiation to the Environment, one of whose specialties is water.[17]
The old Thermal Baths were closed in 2004. In 2005, a new thermal center, Thermoludism, opened on the Annette and Lubin hill with panoramic views of the city. It is directly linked byfunicular to the heart of the city and a new luxury hotel.
In 2007, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit completely renewed its infrastructure to comply with the best international standards, allowing it to continue to host the annual BelgianFormula OneGrand Prix 1, in addition to many other annual sporting events.[14]
Spa is located on the borders of theArdennes massif, at the gateway to theHigh Fens in the Wayai valley. The city center is surrounded by three wooded hills including Annette and Lubin to the north. The town borders the rural municipalities ofTheux,Jalhay,Stavelot andStoumont in the district ofVerviers in theprovince of Liège. The municipal area is 39.89 km (24.79 mi); including 7.9 km (4.9 mi) of built and related land, 5.6 km (3.5 mi) of agricultural land and 23.6 km (14.7 mi) of forests and wooded land.[18]
Many of the famous mineral springs in Spa are located on a hillside south of the town.[19] In total, there are more than 300 cold mineral springs in Spa and its surroundings, classified into two types: light mineral waters and natural sparkling waters (called 'pouhons' locally).[19] The light mineral waters come from recent rainfall on the Malchamps Moor, roughly 4 km (2.5 mi) south-west of the town and are filtered through layers ofpeat,quartz, andphyllite.[19] In contrast, the pouhon waters come from rainfall that may be decades old, having percolated through calcareous rocks hundreds of meters underground.[19]
Spa has anoceanic climate that is made more continental by its higher elevation and inland position compared to other Belgian climates at lower level or closer to the sea. Spa has a relatively high precipitation year-round, with tricky weather something that theSpa-Francorchamps race track is known for. The elevation also results in cooler summers and frequent winter frost along with snowfall. Spa is quite gloomy, although averaging both a drier and sunnier climate than nearby locationsStavelot andMalmedy that are also surrounding the race track.
Climate data for Spa (1991–2020 normals; extremes since 1950)
Spa has two railway stations:Spa andSpa-Géronstère, where local trains ofSNCB/NMBS link the city withTheux,Verviers andAachen. The railway line used to extend further south towardsTrois-Ponts,Vielsalm andLuxembourg. Local and regional bus services in Spa are provided by the Walloon transport companyTEC. Spa is located on the crosspoint of national roads N62, N629 and N686. The nearest motorway is the A27 (E42), where a junction for Spa is located in the commune ofJalhay.
Thecoat of arms for Spa is a stylized pouhon housed in aneoclassical monument to the covering surrounded by a protective wall opened its facade. The monument is topped by a blue banner bearing the "Spa-Pouhon" inscriptions. "Argent masonry money pouhon of sand topped with gold-SPA Pouhon inscriptions on a blue background." The city colours are yellow and blue. The stylized pouhon is inspired by the monument that housed the PouhonPeter the Great until 1820.
Under theAncien Régime, the shield was commonly used in spa towns. It was customary for the spa guests to leave their arms at the hotel where he had stayed in recognition of the benefits of the waters. At Spa, many hotels have inscriptions like "In the Arms of England", "theDuke of Orleans," "To the King ofPoland", etc.
^Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, George Rosen, Yale University Dept. of the History of Science and Medicine, Project Muse, H. Schuman, 1954
Laparra, Jean-Claude; Hesse, Pascal (2011).L'envers des parades : Le commandement de l'armée allemande : réalités et destins croisés 1914-1918 (in French). Paris: 14-18 éditions.ISBN978-2-916385-77-8.
