The Old Spa House — the symbol of Krynica
The Old Spa House is the most distinctive building on Krynica's promenade and the symbol of the whole resort. Built at the end of the 19th century, it is in a grand, palatial style with rich architectural decoration that to this day gives the promenade its dignified, resort character.
From the start the building served both treatment and social life — it housed a pump room and rooms for visitors taking the waters, among other things. Many chapters of Krynica's history are bound up with it, and among the guests who stayed within its walls are well-known figures from Poland's public life.
The New Spa House and the bath houses
Opposite the older building stands the New Spa House, built in the second half of the 1930s. Its modern, modernist architecture was a response to the growing number of visitors, for whom the old Spa House was no longer enough. When it was finished it was reckoned the most modern building in the town.
The spa complex is completed by the former mineral and mud bath houses, where classic balneological treatments used Krynica's waters and peat mud. Together with the pump rooms and the parks they form a coherent spa landscape that gives Krynica-Zdrój its particular character.
A walk through the spa town
- The promenade — the resort's formal axis with the pump room, cafés and historic spa buildings.
- The pump rooms — where Krynica's mineral waters are tasted, the famous “Zuber” among them.
- The spa parks — green spaces and paths linking the resort's main buildings.
- The architecture — 19th-century eclecticism set against interwar modernism, visible at every turn.
How to get there and practical info
- Town
- Krynica-Zdrój, Sącz Beskids
- The Old Spa House
- Built at the end of the 19th century
- The New Spa House
- Built in the 1930s, modernist
- Style
- Grand eclecticism and interwar modernism
- The town's byname
- “The pearl of Polish spa towns”
- Admission
- The promenade and parks are free
When to go
The spa parks waking up and quiet walks along the promenade before the summer season.
The spa in full swing, with concerts, visitors taking the waters and a promenade full of life.
The golden setting of the spa parks and an intimate resort atmosphere outside the peak season.
A festive spa atmosphere and a base for skiers from the slopes nearby.
Other sights in Krynica-Zdrój
Straight-line distances from „The Old Spa House and the architecture of the resort" — calculated from real coordinates. By road it is often further.
Where to stay nearby
Places from our list that have The Old Spa House and the architecture of the resort within walking distance or a short drive.
