Most of western Bulgaria is a moderate seismic risk zone, but it is also blessed with many hot springs. They vary in temperature and the healing mineral they naturally contain, and have been enjoyed ever since Roman times.
In Gorna Banya, the water has been revered for its healing nature for centuries. According to local folk tales, the waters had restored the once-abandoned village and healed a hunting dog from the valley of Sofia.
In 1922, a modern bathhouse with separate bathing areas and medical facilities was built, replacing an old Ottoman building. The ornate brick structure was designed in a late Vienna Secession style, with reinforced concrete domes and stone statues.
Public bathing culture started to decline in the 1960s as bathrooms became commonplace in new buildings, and collapsed further after the fall of the communist regime, as government subsidies for public baths dried out, leaving all but a few profitable structures closed and abandoned. The Gorna Banya bath house was no exception.
Today, the beautiful abandoned structure is a shadow of its former self. Yet contrary to most of its abandoned counterparts, it rarely falls completely silent. The water that once gave it life now flows freely right next to it, in a public fountain that attracts those who still seek the town’s mineral-rich waters.