According to some estimates, in addition to the fire damage, the operator of the spa will have to reckon with a loss of income of up to half a billion forints this year.

Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy discussed with the elected mayor of Miskolc, József Tóth-Szántai, the Cave Spa in Miskolc, which suffered fire damage, the Ministry of National Economy announced.

Unfortunately, the Cave Bath in Miskolctapolca caught fire , and the fire spread to a part of the building of almost a thousand square meters, despite intensive extinguishing.

The Minister of National Economy assured the elected mayor that

the government will provide all possible assistance for the reconstruction of the cave spa,

since, in addition to lost tourism income, the livelihood of the families of those working there was also threatened.

The spa is forced to take a break due to restoration work and cannot receive guests.

József Tóth-Szántai informed Márton Nagy that the company operating the spa

through reorganization, it ensures that the employees keep their jobs, and that tourists with reservations are tried to be received and cared for in other spas in Miskolc.

The Miskolctapolca Cave Bath, which is unique in Europe and has international relevance, is a huge treasure for the city and the region, and is also an outstanding tourist attraction for Hungary. There is almost no Hungarian family that has not visited it or does not want to visit it.

The uniqueness of the complex, established in a park-forest natural environment with historical roots, is provided by the pools created in the cave system.

The tourism weight of the facility is indicated by the fact that before Covid, it received nearly three hundred thousand visitors annually, and 147 thousand in the first seven months of 2024. The minister added: the assessment of the damages is still ongoing, they are presumably very significant. One of the most important tourism providers in the region suffered damage, along with the employees and their families, so the government must help rebuild as quickly as possible.

An electrical short could have caused the fire

An electrical short could have caused the fire in the Miskolctapolca Cave Bath, the Miskolc mayor's office announced. The fire investigation and damage assessment work in the spa is still ongoing, but it has already been ruled out that the fire on Friday evening was caused by intent, as a result of which the roof structure of the spa complex was seriously damaged. A damage expert will arrive on site on Tuesday to assess the exact damage, until then it is not possible to cover the damaged roof structure, however, as soon as the assessment is done, the building will be temporarily covered to prevent further damage.

A group of technical experts will also be set up to plan exactly what kind of work and how much time will be needed to rebuild the spa. The most important goal is for the cave bath to be able to welcome guests again as soon as possible, but this can only happen if the bathers' complete safety is guaranteed.

To the operator of the spa and the municipality

several private individuals indicated that they were ready to help with the restoration, even with manual labor, but the leaders of other spa towns and spas, as well as the entire management of the Hungarian Bath Association, also offered their help.

In September, following a consultation between the reigning mayor Pál Veres and the elected mayor József Tóth-Szántai (Pont Mi Egyesület–Fidesz–KDNP), the municipality created a bank account , whose account number is:

Donations are accepted on account number 11734004-15472009-14920004 at OTP Bank in the name of the Municipality of Miskolc County. (IBAN: HU73 1173 4004 1547 2009 1492 0004)

In order to ensure that employees do not lose their jobs, the management of Miskolci Fürdők Kft. has already started negotiations and reorganizing tasks. The management of the city and Miskolci Fürdők Kft. is grateful for the offers and the increasingly definite cooperation that seems to be forming in connection with the fire to save the cave spa, they wrote.

According to some estimates, in addition to the fire damage, the operator of the spa will have to reckon with a loss of income of up to half a billion forints this year.

MTI

Front page photo: The burnt roof structure of the medical center of the Miskolctapolca Cave Bath on September 6, 2024. The approximately 800 square meter building caught fire on Friday evening, the roof structure was completely burnt. Photo: MTI/János Vajda