A small town at the foot of Sredna Gora in Central Bulgaria helps in healing various diseases and offers spa rejuvenating treatment. Hisarya, one of Bulgaria’s most famous spa and wellness resorts, keeps receiving people who believe that a strong spirit abides in a strong and healthy body.

The winter in Hisarya is mild. The spring carries around the scents of flowers and the summer offers cool shades. Undoubtedly, Hisarya’s greatest treasure is its mineral baths. It has got more than 22 spa waters, each boasting a unique chemical composition. The healing properties of these waters were known by the ancient Romans, who being attracted by the region’s abundance established the fortified town of Diocletian, the Romans’ emperor at the time (285-305). Nowadays, the town of Hisaya has preserved the remains of beautiful palaces, quarters, early-Christian basilicas and administrative buildings. Walking around the town one can see the fortified stone-carved and tile-covered wall of the onetime Roman town, as well as some remains of Roman baths. In the past Hisarya’s baths offered relaxation and health boosting. Its visitors underwent rejuvenating and beautifying procedures carried out by druids.

At present, Hisarya’s mineral baths, along with its new spa centres, receive numerous clients from Bulgaria and abroad. For many years now, physiotherapist Yana Hristozova has been working at a local hotel with modern spa and wellness facilities. She says that the interest in the spa centre is so big that at the moment the staff can hardly attend to all of their clients. Hisarya’s mineral waters are good for kidney diseases and those attacking the gastrointestinal track. The town receives most of its guests in the warm months.

“The zenith is in summer. From the beginning of May we start receiving a lot of Israeli tourists, who somtimes number 400 people a day”, Yana Hristozova explains. “We would make up to 900 procedures a day, which is a huge stress! We offer heat therapy, paraffin wax procedures, as well as treatment with lye and mud from the Dead Sea. We have traditions in acupuncture. We have got acupuncture and laserpuncture studios. For those who want to get in shape, we offer thalassotherapy for losing weight, anti-cellulite treatment and others. We offer pearl and whirlpool bath tubs, as well as underwater massage. We receive a lot of Israeli, Bulgarians, British, Germans, French, etc.”, Yana Hristozova says for Radio Bulgaria.

To deal with the crisis last winter local hotel-keepers significantly reduced the prices of accommodation and spa packages. As a result, in late February some hotels literally burst at the seams with tourists. The snowfalls and minus temperatures typical of the season could not put visitors off the outdoor warm swimming pools. It is not only the healing properties of Hisarya’s mineral water that make it so unique. It also has a relaxing effect on the body and after the first mineral water treatment your skin becomes soft as silk! Surely you can trust Hisarya’s physiotherapists and masseurs! After a nice treatment you can have a walk around the remains of the former town of Diocletian and drop by local restaurants to taste the region’s delicious dishes. Once the winter is over, you will be fascinated with Hisarya’s green parks filled with the scents of rare tree species. The town abounds in mineral springs containing various chemical elements and healing properties. Each spring in Hisarya has its own history. The most famous one is called Lass’s Drop. The legend about it tells of a beautiful maid who was forcibly made to serve in the harem of a local Turkish chieftain. One evening he forced the lass to serve his guests naked. No sooner had she stood in front of them with a tray than she struck the bey on the head and he dropped dead. As a punishment she was thrown at the stake. The flames had hardly engulfed her body when two warm tears broke out of her eyes and spurted a healing stream. Nowadays, the sculpture of a maid carrying a tray high above her head stands at the centre of Hisarya, being the tourist logo of the town.
Hisarya is also compelling for its old houses from 20 century, when the mineral baths tourism in the region flourished immensely. Along with them, you can see numerous luxury and spa hotels that stand out against the backdrop of the tumbledown mineral baths facilities left from Socialism. The latter, however, give a character to the town, reviving its past and culture.
Today Hisarya attracts the lovers of peace and healthy retreat and is soon about to upstage the famous town of Velingrad in the Rhodopes, which has been proclaimed a spa capital of the Balkans.

English version: Vyara Popova
Photos: Veneta Nikolova