Editing Băile Herculane

{{About|the Romanian spa town|the imperial baths in Roman-era Milan|Baths of Hercules}}
{{Infobox Romanian subdivision
|type               = town
|county             = Caraș-Severin
|official_name      = Băile Herculane
|image_flag         =
|image_shield       = ROU CS Baile Herculane CoA.png
|image_skyline      = B.Herculane mai 2007.jpg
|image_caption      = Băile Herculane seen from a mountaintop
|image_map          = Baile Herculane jud Caras-Severin.svg
|map_caption        = Location in Caraș-Severin County
|leader_name        = Cristian Miclău<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prezenta.roaep.ro/locale27092020/romania-pv-final |title=Results of the 2020 local elections |publisher=Central Electoral Bureau |access-date=8 June 2021 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|leader_party       = PNL
|term               = 2020&ndash;2024
|coordinates        = {{coord|44|52|43|N|22|24|51|E|region:RO|display=inline,title}}
|elevation          = 168
|elevation_min      = 
|elevation_max      = 
|area_total         = 105.48
|area_footnotes     = 
|population_as_of   = 
|population_total   = auto
|population_footnotes = 
|postal_code        = 325200
|area_code          = (+40) 02 55
|website            = {{url|http://www.primaria-baileherculane.ro}}
}}
'''Băile Herculane''' ({{langx|la|Aqua Herculis}}; {{langx|de|Herkulesbad}}; {{langx|hu|Herkulesfürdő}}; {{langx|cs|Herkulovy Lázně}}, {{langx|tr|Lazarethane}}) is a [[spa town]] in [[Romania]]n [[Banat]], in [[Caraș-Severin County]], situated in the valley of the [[Cerna (Danube)|Cerna River]], between the [[Mehedinți Mountains]] to the east and the [[Cerna Mountains]] to the west, elevation {{cvt|168|m}}. Its current population is 3,787. The town administers one village, Pecinișca ({{langx|hu|Pecsenyeska}}; from 1912 to 1918 ''Csernabesenyő'').

==History==
{{Historical populations
|source = Census data
|1956 |1656
|1966 |2456
|1977 |3835
|1992 |6340
|2002 |6051
|2011 |5008
|2021 |3787
}}

The [[spa town]] of Băile Herculane has a long history of human habitation.  Numerous archaeological discoveries show that the area has been inhabited since the [[Paleolithic]] era.  The ''Peștera Hoților'' ([[Cave]] of the Thieves), contains multiple levels, including one from the [[Mousterian]] period, one from the [[Mesolithic]] period (late Epigravettian) and several from the later [[Neolithic]] periods.

The Romans established the town of ''Ad Aquas Herculis'' based on the legend that the weary [[Hercules]] stopped in the valley to bathe and rest. Unearthed stone carvings show that visiting Roman aristocrats turned the town into a Roman leisure centre. Six statues of Hercules from the time have been discovered.  A bronze replica of one of them, molded in 1874, stands as a landmark in the town centre.

Roman baths, mapped in 1774,<ref>Bozu Ovidiu, Öffentliche und Private Gebäude An Den Römischen Strassen Aus Dem Banat, BANATICA 18 2008 ISSN 1222-0612</ref> became the thermal spring now known as Hygea's Spring, had an area of 667 m<sup>2</sup> with 11 rooms. In the middle of the building was a circular pool of 5 m diameter with steps descending to the pool floor. There was another rectangular pool with sides of 8 x 4.2 m. On the steep Cerna bank the Romans built another five buildings around thermal springs.

The ruins of the amphitheatre were 43 m from the left bank of the river. It had an outer diameter of 47.4 m. The Austrian architects took the massive ruins into account in order to create a rectangular park with terraces which still exists today in the centre.

[[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] troops clashed here after the Ottoman victory in the battle of [[Mehadia]] on 30 August 1788.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://f.eba.gov.tr/flippingbook/04-ansiklopediler/04-ansiklopediler-ansiklopediler-osmanli-tarihi-cilt-3/files/assets/basic-html/page138.html|title=Untitled-4|website=f.eba.gov.tr}}</ref> The Ottomans won the skirmish, took the town on 7 September 1788 and advanced to [[Caransebeș]]. It was retaken by the Austrians at the end of September 1789.

<gallery mode=packed>
File:Roman baths at Băile Herculane.png|Roman baths from 1774
File:Baile Herculane road 1824.jpg|The town in 1824
File:Baile_Herculane_01.JPG|The town around 1900
File:Baile Herculane 02.JPG|The town around 1900
File:Posta Romana 1991 Hotels 10.jpg|Romanian stamp of the Hotel Roman
</gallery>

==Climate==
Băile Herculane has a [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfb'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]).

<div style="width:70%;">
{{Weather box
|location = Băile Herculane
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 1.1
|Feb high C = 3
|Mar high C = 8.1
|Apr high C = 14.1
|May high C = 18.6
|Jun high C = 22.2
|Jul high C = 24.4
|Aug high C = 24.5
|Sep high C = 19.3
|Oct high C = 13.6
|Nov high C = 7.8
|Dec high C = 2.8
|year high C =
|Jan mean C = -2.6
|Feb mean C = -1.1
|Mar mean C = 3.3
|Apr mean C = 9.1
|May mean C = 13.9
|Jun mean C = 17.6
|Jul mean C = 19.6
|Aug mean C = 19.6
|Sep mean C = 14.7
|Oct mean C = 9.1
|Nov mean C = 4.1
|Dec mean C = -0.7
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = -6
|Feb low C = -4.8
|Mar low C = -1.3
|Apr low C = 3.5
|May low C = 8.3
|Jun low C = 12
|Jul low C = 14.1
|Aug low C = 14.2
|Sep low C = 10.1
|Oct low C = 5.1
|Nov low C = 1
|Dec low C = -3.7
|year low C =
|Jan precipitation mm = 70
|Feb precipitation mm = 66
|Mar precipitation mm = 76
|Apr precipitation mm = 98
|May precipitation mm = 116
|Jun precipitation mm = 110
|Jul precipitation mm = 94
|Aug precipitation mm = 75
|Sep precipitation mm = 79
|Oct precipitation mm = 74
|Nov precipitation mm = 75
|Dec precipitation mm = 81
|year precipitation =
|date=May 2021|source=https://en.climate-data.org/europe/romania/caras-severin/baile-herculane-15646/}}
</div>

==The modern spa==
In modern times, the spa town has been visited for its supposedly natural healing properties: [[hot spring]]s with sulfur, chlorine, sodium, calcium, magnesium and other minerals, as well as negatively ionized air. Before [[World War II]], when the first modern hotel was built (i.e. H Cerna, 1930) it remained a popular destination with [[Western Europe]]ans.<ref>The fashionable crowds of the era are described at pp. 210-211 in ''Between the Water and the Woods'', by Patrick Leigh Fermor (Penguin Books, 1987, {{ISBN|9780140094305}}).</ref> During the [[Communist Romania|Communist era]], mass [[tourism]] facilities were built, such as the 8- to 12-storied concrete hotels Roman, Hercules A, Hercules B, Afrodita, Minerva, Diana, UGSR, etc. which dominate the skyline. It was visited by all kinds of people but was especially popular with employees and [[retirees]], who would spend their state-allotted vacation vouchers there, hoping to improve their health. Today, they share the town with a younger crowd. New privately owned [[Pension (lodging)|pensions]] and hotels appeared after 1989, along the Cerna/Tiena river banks, spread from the train station to the end of the hydroelectrical dam. Some of the Austro-Hungarian era buildings have become derelict, including many of the baths, because of bad management after privatization.<ref name="digi2016-11-11">[https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/justitie/retineri-in-dosarul-devalizarii-bailor-herculane-prejudiciul-123-de-milioane-de-lei-610368 Rețineri în dosarul devalizării Băilor Herculane. "Prejudiciul: 123 de milioane de lei"], ''Digi24'', retrieved on 13 June 2019 {{in lang|ro}}</ref> In the late 2010s, an [[NGO]] called the Herculane Project was established to stabilise the buildings and eventually restore them.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55827510 "Romania's young history fans battle to save imperial spa resort"] by Stephen McGrath, [[BBC News]], 1 February 2021</ref>

==Natives==
* [[Friedrich von Martini]] (1833–1897), Swiss engineer, designer of the [[Martini–Henry|Martini–Henry rifle]]
* [[Vasile Didea]] (born 1954), Romanian boxer 
* [[Ferenc Szécsi]] (1913–1974), Hungarian stage and film actor

==Image gallery==
<gallery>
File:Băile Herculane 325200, Romania - panoramio (8).jpg|Main road going into the resort
File:Herkulesfürdő2.jpg|Spa
File:Statuia lui Hercules, Băile Herculane.jpg|Statue of [[Hercules]]
File:Baile Herculane Piata Hercule (2).JPG|Hercules Square
File:Hotel Cerna Baile Herculane.JPG|Cerna Hotel, founded in 1936  
File:Hotel Roman, Baile Herculane.JPG|Roman Hotel 
File:Cazinoul, Baile Herculane.JPG|The Casino
File:Băile Herculane, katolika preĝejo, 1.jpeg| Roman-Catholic Church
File:Gara, Baile Herculane.jpg|Railway station
File:Pestera Hotilor CS-I-s-B-10772 (5).jpg|Entrance to a nearby cave 
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Caraș-Severin County}}
{{Spa towns in Romania}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baile Herculane}}
[[Category:Populated places in Caraș-Severin County]]
[[Category:Localities in Romanian Banat]]
[[Category:Towns in Romania]]
[[Category:Spa towns in Romania]]
[[Category:Ski areas and resorts in Romania]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Romania]]