Dolna Banya Mineral Springs

Dolna Banya sits in a basin on the northern foothills of the Rila mountains, roughly 80 kilometres from both Sofia and Plovdiv, and is home to one of the most powerful hot mineral springs of the wider Rilo-Rhodope and Sredna Gora area. Around 1700, a local benefactor, Hadji Radoslav of nearby Kostenets, built two bathing structures at the springs — one raised on the foundations of an earlier Roman bath, still known today as the 'Roman Bath', and a second that survives as the women's section of the modern bathhouse. The alkaline, weakly mineralized water is locally compared to the springs of Karlovy Vary and is used to treat rheumatic, cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive conditions. Present-day hotels and spa complexes in the town centre, such as Complex Europe, draw their indoor and outdoor pools directly from this same historic source.