Buzias, a resort of the heart

We invite you to visit Buzias spa in Timis County, western Romania

Daniel Onea, 16.03.2017, 13:20

The only Romanian resort of national interest in western Romania is Buzias, specializing in the treatment of heart conditions and using natural cure elements in its treatment procedures. First off, there is the sparkling mineral water used in external curing procedures under the form of bathing sessions with warmed mineral water.

The sparkling mineral water can also be used internally thanks to the pump rooms placed in the park. Also highly appreciated are the chokedamps, carbon dioxide emanations recommended for the treatment of peripheral circulation problems.

And, last but not the least it’s the ionized air here, which is also one of the resort’s fortes as it has an atmospheric concentration similar to a 1,000m altitude. Although it lies at an altitude of only 128 meters above the sea level, its bio-climate is perfect for treatment and rest. The mayor of the town of Buzias, Sorin Munteanu will be presenting some of the resort’s hotspots.

Sorin Munteanu: ”I would like first to refer to the sparkling mineral waters, the natural healing factors, discovered a couple of hundred of years ago. Apart from that kind of cure, miraculous for one’s health, and which Buzias has on offer, we have a couple of novelties as well. The first to mention is the wine road. The Silagi Hills, which are part of the town of Buzias, had been very familiar until 1989. Unfortunately these hills were ignored for a while, but since 2012 their popularity has again started to grow. So we can speak about a wine road, which in my capacity as one of the town’s planners, I’d like to link to a specialized program ongoing in southern Romania and all the way down to Serbia. I might also add that besides the treatment and relaxation programmes on offer here, the spa boasts a series of leisure and extreme sports opportunities. Buzias has a school, unique in its kind in the western part of the country: a school of skydiving, which also provides training for utility and small airplane pilots. The centre here also offers recreation flights. “

The wine-growing tradition in the Silagi Hill, which is 324 meters high, is an old one. Wine-growing activities here have been traced down to the beginning of the last millennium. There are 14,000 hectares of farmland, nine per cent of which are covered with vineyards. This is the source of the superior table wines, red and white, which have gained international recognition. Given the potential of the two kinds of tourism, winegrowing and spa, the accommodation infrastructure of Buzias has seen an unprecedented progress, according to mayor Sorin Munteanu.

Sorin Munteanu: ”From 2006 to 2013, the hotel industry saw real progress, with hotels being upgraded from two to three and even four stars. The infrastructure saw more than 6 million Euros worth of investments being used to modernize the hotels. The potential is also great because of the location of Buzias, a city lying 30 kilometers from Timisoara and 35 kilometers from the airport. Tourism supported by the National House of Pensions has always worked really fine with us. We have been visited by people from all over Romania. Regarding foreign tourists, we have collaborations with Israel, an old-time source of tourists for Romania and especially for Buzias. Also, we have partnerships with similar resorts, Mako and Oroshaza, which can be found close by, in Hungary. In 2013, we also had a promotion partnership project in western and south-eastern Europe, as well as in western Romania.”

The Buzias Spa Museum, the first such museum in Romania, is open to visitors only on Sundays and Saturdays, from 2 to 5 pm. The museum presents the history of the resort with an emphasis on the therapeutic effects that the mineral waters here have on cardiovascular, circulatory and high blood pressure conditions. Another unique tourist objective are the colonnades, the favorite place of Empress Sissy, who used to take long walks here. The colonnades, built in 1875 at the order of Emperor Franz Josef, will be restored to their former glory in keeping with the original blueprints.

Sorin Munteanu: “Those alleys unique in Europe, colonnades as they are called, which are 533-m long and are covered in wood, being built in the neo-gothic style, will most probably reenter tourist circuit by end-June. Also, at the end of November 2016, we submitted a project aimed at financing Romanian balneal resorts. Under this project we want to upgrade the park. There are 34 hectares of park and forest, which alongside the colonnades and the edifices were built during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is here that Emperor Franz Joseph used to come during his military campaigns and also Empress Sissy. We want to bring tradition back to life again, but in close connection with the historical Banat. And when I say historical Banat I also refer to the regions that are now part of Serbia and Hungary. The Casino will also be refurbished and turned into an events hall. It is a very good venue for philharmonic orchestra concerts.”

Lucia Parvu, a company manager, is an expert wine tester and represents an association made up of four wine producers. She says that Buzias is an area that has been forgotten for the last 30 years. Nevertheless, she says, a slight change has been felt since 2008 and the setting up of the wine producers’ association was a step in this direction.

Lucia Parvu: “This association tries to connect people who love tourism, wine, gastronomy and traditions. In every vine-growing area of the country there are specific products. It’s a good thing they established this association because it promotes them as a whole, something that this area has not have for a very long time. At present, the quality of Romanian wines is appreciated abroad. They are presented in national and international competitions and are awarded medals. I think this says it all. We have wine cellars open for visitors. I don’t like to call it wine tourism, but rather tourism of beauty, nature, of natural products and of wine. It’s a wonderful experience to visit a producer’s cellar and it is very different from meeting them at a wine show. Each of them has a different story which people are eager to know. We wish we had wine tourism offers just like the ones that we see abroad. There, tourists spend their holiday visiting wine cellars. They travel, taste, eat and have fun, which is great.”

Lucia Parvu says that spa and wine tourism are not easy to combine in a single holiday, as for the first around 18 therapy sessions are required while for the latter there are too many wine cellars to visit in just one holiday and too many experiences to live.