Thermalbad Bad Zurzach

Therme Zurzach is a thermal bath at Dr. Martin Erb-Strasse 11 in Bad Zurzach, canton of Aargau, operated by Thermalbad Zurzach Betriebs AG. Its water rises artesian from a depth of 430 metres out of the Zurzach Glauber's salt spring at 39.9 degrees, bringing dissolved minerals from the rock with it. The spring was struck by chance in 1914 during salt drilling and then closed again because the interest at the time was in salt; in the 1950s the physician Dr Martin Erb pressed for its use, a renewed search succeeded with a jet delivering 500 litres a minute, and the first bathers were received in a simple hut with fourteen tubs. The operator dates the first use of the water for bathing to 1955. Spring water no longer runs unfiltered into the pools but passes through a treatment process disinfected largely with ozone, and one pool is emptied and refilled with fresh thermal water each day.

The indoor section is described as six function pools. The Intensiv-Solebad is a saturated brine bath at about 34 degrees and 0.70 metres deep, with a salt content of 8 to 10 per cent, calcium and magnesium sulphate, cave-like surroundings, coloured lighting and underwater music, restricted to guests aged 16 and over. A hot and cold pair forms a contrast unit, the hot pool holding the untreated thermal water at about 39 degrees, seasonally fluctuating between 37 and 39, and the cold pool at 18 degrees. A course and therapy pool at about 32 degrees is the indoor part of the otherwise outdoor swimming pool and hosts baby and children's swimming courses and Rheumaliga group classes. The children's Papa Moll-Wasserwelt has two pools at 32 to 34 degrees, 0.30 to 0.40 metres deep, with a 61-metre water slide. An infrared grotto sits in the basement below the brine bath, and a rest area has heated mosaic loungers.

Five pools lie outdoors. The Wohlfuehlbecken, the largest relaxation pool, is about 35 degrees with bubble loungers, massage jets and a whirlpool; the Ruhebecken, at about 36 degrees the warmest pool, is reserved for guests aged 16 and over; both can be entered from indoors. The Fliessbecken, a circular current pool 1.35 metres deep, is about 31 degrees and was recently completely rebuilt in stainless steel with a waterfall, bubble installations and LED lighting after 39 years of service, and is covered at night to reduce heat loss. The 25-metre swimming pool at about 32 degrees is the coolest pool. The Naturschwimmbecken is part of the garden, entirely free of chemicals and unheated, purified by a purely biological process as in a natural lake, and ranges between 11 and 25 degrees with the season.

Three textile saunas are included with bathing admission: the Seesauna, a classic Finnish sauna at about 90 degrees with 5 to 15 per cent humidity, standing on the bank of the natural pond for direct cooling; the milder outdoor Biosauna at about 60 degrees and around 40 per cent humidity; and the indoor Kristalldampfbad at about 45 degrees and 100 per cent humidity. Infusion ceremonies take place in the separate textile-free Bohrturmsaunen; counting these and the spa saunas, the operator states a total of fourteen saunas and steam baths across more than 2,000 square metres. The bath and textile saunas open daily from 8:00 to 22:00, with bathing and sauna use ending at 21:30 and last admission one hour before closing; individual pools keep shorter hours. Note that the older domain thermalbad.ch issues a permanent redirect to thermezurzach.ch.