"NGO Kisfaludy Program 2025"

In order to prepare the service level and capacity expansion of Gyulai Várfürdő Kft. and to finance the implementation, a Support Document was signed with Kisfaludy2030 Turisztikai Fejlesztő Nonprofit Zrt. (project identification number: ET-2020-02-099), according to which Gyulai Várfürdő Kft. received a grant of HUF 2,883,677,788 (the total eligible cost of the project is HUF 3,185,110,000 , with a grant intensity of 90%).

Project title: Service and capacity expansion of Gyula Castle Bath; project identification number: ET-2020-02-099

The completion date for all project elements of the entire investment is November 27, 2025.

The supported project was implemented within the framework of the Kisfaludy Tourism Development Program.

 

In the first phase of the project, the " Water Children's Paradise " was renovated in August 2022 , with a spray park, children's paddling pool and children's pool with a unique, combined pirate play tower, water play elements and slides.

In the second phase of the project, the " Renovation and expansion of the main building ", the medical department was renovated, guest and employee changing rooms were created, a Pizza&Pasta show kitchen was completed, and the main building relaxation area was expanded. The works were completed in April 2024 .

In the final, third phase of the project, in the " Renovation of the Lovarda Building " element, in addition to the interior architectural reconstruction works of the historic, former Lovarda bath building, the hydrotherapy department and the interior spaces of the Main Building were renovated, and new tangentor bathtubs were purchased to improve the service level.

 

"The Gyula Castle Bath is being renewed in 2017"

In December 2017, Gyulai Várfürdő Kft. received a 100% grant intensity, non-refundable grant within the framework of the TOP-3.2.1-16 Energy modernization of municipal buildings call for proposals. The amount of the grant awarded was: HUF 229,577,877.

Project ID number: TOP-3.2.1-16-BS1-2017-00053

Project title: Energy development of the Gyula Castle Bath
Project implementation period: 2019.03.01-2021.07.31.
Location of the implementation: 5700 Gyula, Várkert u. 2.

As a result of the development, the energy development of the Gyula Castle Spa was implemented with the following parameters:
The affected buildings are the 50-meter swimming pool building and the 25-meter training pool buildings.

• Thermal insulation of facade walls
• Installation of plastic doors and windows
• Design of a barrier-free changing room, toilet and shower
• Installation of an elevator in the 25-meter swimming pool building
• Heat transfer side modernization, radiator replacement in the 25-meter swimming pool building
• Installation of a 50 kW solar panel system on the roof of the main building
• Construction of a new, expanded, heat recovery ventilation system in place of the existing one in the 25-meter swimming pool building
• Replacement of the roof structure of a 50-meter swimming pool
• Installation of a new, modern air blower in connection with the air retention system of a 50-meter swimming pool
• Lighting modernization

The project was implemented with the help of European Union funding, within the framework of the Széchenyi 2020 program.

Full application information is available here: http://bekestop.hu/gyula/top-3-2-1-16-bs1-2017-00053/

 

"Development of Gyula Castle Bath 2009"

Date: The “Gyula Castle Spa Development 2009” project began on June 20, 2012.

On June 20, the development of the Gyula Castle Bath, costing almost two and a half billion forints, began, at the end of which the water surface will increase by another 900 square meters. The bath successfully applied for the Southern Great Plain Operative Program of the New Széchenyi Plan, and within this framework it won nearly 1.2 billion forints of EU and state non-refundable support. The remaining amount is provided by Gyulai Várfürdő Kft. as its own source, and the company is also taking care of the almost one billion forint loan. The expansion is expected to allow the bath to welcome tourists and families at a high standard both in winter and summer, and last but not least, 21 new jobs will be created.

In recent years, Gyula has become one of the ten most visited Hungarian cities in the country, and measurements have revealed that 83 percent of guests travel to Gyula because of the Gyula Castle Bath and the atmosphere of the historic city (79%).

It is no coincidence that – according to estimates – tourism provides a livelihood for 15-20 percent of the population. The above data shows that – from a tourism perspective – the Gyula Castle Bath is of outstanding importance for the future of Gyula, and it is no coincidence that further developments, such as increasing attendance and creating jobs, have come to the fore in recent years.

The plans of the city leaders were helped by the fact that, according to a public opinion poll, 73 percent of the citizens of Gyula also named the development of tourism as the main breakthrough point for the city's future, and 55 percent of them are also visitors to the spa. The opinion of the citizens of Gyula is reinforced by the fact that in the last 2-3 years, developments worth billions of forints each have been implemented in the hotel industry, which indicates that investors and private owners are also counting on a serious future in tourism.

The Gyula Castle Bath is already the market leader in the region, but despite its almost five thousand square meters of water surface, including 11 indoor and eight outdoor pools, the bath cannot provide all guests with quality, family-friendly, three-generation services all year round - in addition to medical services.
That is why the city leadership, together with the management of Gyula Castle Bath Ltd., decided to further expand the bath, which is considered the jewel of Gyula.

Thus, the decision was made to enrich the Gyula Castle Bath with a modern family adventure bath, which will entice all members of the family to bathe all year round. During the investment, the bath will be enriched with a new, indoor adventure complex, which will include five new pools (adventure pool, swimming pool, children's pool, relaxation pool, diving pool), three slides, a water bar, a sauna world, two playgrounds tailored to different age groups and a baby-mother corner.

 

From December 22, 2013, it awaits its dear guests with cloudless experiences in any season of the year. The biggest attraction of the city of Gyula, the Gyula Castle Bath! The new, indoor experience complex serves families, young people and those who do not primarily visit the bath for the medicinal water. The countless experience elements – a rolling corridor, standing massages, lying massages, underwater massages, geysers, whirlpools, neck showers, water curtains, as well as a family, rafting navigatour slide and a wide slide (body) slide – introduce its guests to the mysteries of the water world. Daredevil and fearless guests can test their courage on the trampoline, from which they can splash into a 4-meter deep diving pool. The
Comfort is also not left out, as whirlpools, hot tubs, the possibilities offered by the new sauna world and a water bar satisfy all the needs of bathers. While the adults have fun and indulge in exciting pleasures,
Meanwhile, the little ones can find breathtaking adventures in the playgrounds.
Bathe with your family in the Gyula Castle Bath, whether it's sunny or snowy!

Frequently asked questions and answers

Why is the investment necessary?

The Gyula Castle Bath is one of the most traditional baths in the Southern Great Plain Region. Every year, around 500-600 thousand guests use its internationally recognized services.
The operation and tourist importance of the spa significantly influences not only the city but also the economy of the region through the spillover effects of tourism revenues and additional services. In addition, the National Health Tourism Development Strategy classifies the Gyula Castle Spa as the only internationally certified spa in the Southern Great Plain.

The last major developments of the spa were completed in 2004. In two phases of the Széchenyi Plan, the wellness department was renovated, the capacity of medical services was expanded by 90%, the swimming pool block and the Riding School, which boasts four medicinal pools, were renovated. Today, international and domestic tourism trends require new, modern health-preserving services, and the spa is unable to offer an attractive program for families with small children - outside the summer season. The Gyula Castle Spa cannot fully meet these challenges. The wellness department is now crowded, small and technically and aesthetically outdated, and the quality, number and capacity of the services need to be expanded.

In the past decade, several major spas in the region have also implemented developments, and several projects are planned in Romania, so the competitive situation on the market is intensifying. Gyula can only maintain its prominent position if it competes not only for Hungarian but also for foreign spa guests. There is significant demand for quality spa services, for example, from Romania, and this trend has become even more intense after the neighboring country joined the European Union. Due to its geographical location (international border crossing), Gyula has a competitive advantage over Hajdúszoboszló, Debrecen, and Orosháza-Gyopárosfürdő in serving Romanian guests, but it must also make its services competitive in order to retain its guests.

There is also a significant competitive situation during the summer beach season, which is the most important and highest-income period for spas. The smaller spas (beaches) of the region, inaccessible in winter, represent an alternative to larger, more crowded, regional or national spas in summer. In this situation, the Gyula Castle Spa must also find a direction in which it can ensure that the number of guests increases year by year and does not decrease due to the competitive situation. In addition, it is expected that significant spa developments will also be implemented in areas close to the border of Romania in the next 5-10 years. By then, an attractive technological and service level must be created in Gyula that encourages foreign guests to visit the Gyula Castle Spa.

In summary, it can be said that the Gyula Castle Bath can provide three of the four so-called bath functions (spa-therapy, beach bath, sports-swimming, wellness-experience bath) at a nationally recognized high standard, but an experience bath capable of attracting and serving young people and families with small children is sorely lacking.

The project is therefore primarily necessary to provide a quality attraction in the long term and guarantee the competitiveness of the Gyula Castle Bath and the city of Gyula in the international tourism industry market.

Why is implementation support necessary?

Support for the planned project is necessary because attractions in tourism (museums, cultural and sports events, spas) generally do not generate enough income to attract the interest of private capital.

Therefore, it is necessary for local governments to primarily undertake the management and development of local tourist attractions.
In our country - thanks to our main natural resource, the abundantly available thermal water - health tourism is of particular importance: among the seven programs of the New Széchenyi Plan, the first one is the - Healing Hungary - Health Industry Program, the first sub-program of which is called "Tourism based on the Health Industry".

Within this, this project proposal fully supports the sub-program aimed at developing quality (complex) tourism offerings related to health tourism.

The main owner of the spa, the Gyula City Government, took this into account and decided to further develop the Gyula Castle Spa, creating a spa that is increasingly competitive by international standards, capable of generating significant tourist traffic, and inducing further hotel investments beyond those already in place (Hunguest Hotel Erkel, Elizabeth Hotel, Wellness Hotel Gyula, Hotel Aqua, Corso Boutique Hotel), for which it cannot do without EU support.
The unique offer of existing thermal pools, expanded with the main element of the project, the indoor family adventure pool full of wellness services, creates an untapped market segment for Gyula, which, with a well-structured marketing strategy, will become an even more successful business with a profitable and returning clientele.

During its operation, the Gyula Castle Bath - almost uniquely among Hungarian baths (!) - can continue to do without the operational support of the Municipality, creating jobs in the city, attracting investors (hotels, restaurants, other tourist programs) to the region, thereby creating space for the establishment of new income-generating enterprises.

The investment scale of the project could not be financed solely from own resources and/or loans, therefore non-refundable community support is necessary.

How does the investment affect access to the services of the Gyula Castle Bath?

The construction schedule has been divided into several phases, and now the city's residents, accommodation providers and guests are being informed about the final phase: final phase (March 1, 2013 - until the end of the works)
The main building can be used in its full function, with the extended winter break,
The shaded and sparkling pools are expected to be closed for the entire duration of the construction, and the cargo port will not be operational.
The other pools of the spa are operating without interruption according to the usual operating schedule.
The work phases depend on the weather and other external factors, so the duration of each work phase may vary accordingly, and their start and end times may be modified.
Current information about the investment is constantly shared with our dear Guests on the website www.varfurdo.hu.
Gyula Castle Bath and the contractors are unitedly committed to minimizing any potential disruptions during the construction work.
Due to any inconveniences that may occur, the management of the Gyula Castle Bath asks for the understanding and patience of our dear guests, in the hope of a joint anticipation for a new family adventure bath that will serve your comfort!
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Why did the outdoor shaded and sparkling pools have to be closed during the construction work of the new adventure pool?

Keeping the safety of our Dear Bathing Guests in mind at all times, it is necessary to close the sunshade and whirlpool pools for the entire duration of the investment, as these pools will become an integral part of the new building with the new sunshade canopy partially pulled over them.
However, the other 16 pools located in the Gyula Castle Bath area continue to operate according to the Operating Regulations.

Our thermal pools are available even during construction:
- octopus pool
- swimming pools located in the Lovarda building
- plunge pool (until October 25, 2012).

Why does the investment start in the middle of the summer season?

Unfortunately, the EU tender system and its evaluation process do not take into account the date of construction, so in order to take the necessary technological steps (e.g. earthworks, foundations, waterproofing) and complete the developments as soon as possible, the investment must begin on June 20, 2012, i.e. at the beginning of the summer season. A detailed scenario has therefore been prepared for the timing of the construction works in order to ensure that guests experience as little inconvenience as possible.

What new services will be created as a result of the development?

New services to be created:
1.Massage (5 beds): The Beauty Massage Salon, which opened in 2011, is planned to move to a new location on the ground floor of the main building.
2. Solarium (2pcs)
3.Cosmetics.
4. Family adventure pool (600 square meters of water surface, 16 adventure elements)
5.Swimming pool (recreational)
6.Children's pool 7.Relaxation pool
8. Plunge pool (for saunas)
9. "Rising Donut" adventure slide
10.Spiral body slide
11.Family slide
12. Deep water trampoline
13. New sauna world - aroma sauna
14. New sauna world - infrared cabin
15. New sauna world - steam cabin
16. New sauna world - Finnish sauna
17. New sauna world - ice fountain and hot tub shower
18. Changing room and baby-mother relaxation room
19. Adolescent dry playground
20. Baby dry playground
21. Childcare and leisure animation

How is the size of the water surface expanding due to development?

Important parameters of newly built pools in the Gyula Castle Bath adventure pool: Row number Name Water surface area (m2) Water temperature (°C) Medicinal water / non-medicinal water Water circulation / filling-draining Average annual operation (days) Indoor pools 1. Adventure pool 608 30-32 non-medicinal water circulation 365 2. Swimming pool 166 27-29 non-medicinal water circulation 365 3. Children's pool 73 30-32 non-medicinal water circulation 365 4. Relaxation pool 35 34-36 non-medicinal water circulation 365 Total new indoor pools: 882 Outdoor pools 1. Plunge 12 12-18 non-medicinal water circulation 365 Total new indoor and outdoor pools: 894