Five Years as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Great Spa Towns of Europe was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 24th July 2021. It was inscribed as a ‘serial transnational’ World Heritage Site, meaning it is comprised of eleven famous spa towns across seven countries. Together, they form one ‘property’.
A Cause for Celebration
The inscription brought the group of spa towns together, creating an international network of towns that support one another. From trips between towns to exchange knowledge and skills, to the simple visibility of flags and banners, becoming a serial transnational World Heritage Site has created strong connections across borders.
The World Heritage Inscription also created a shared structure of governance that works alongside local and national legislation. This has allowed us to work on international projects, such as building our Youth Forum.
Throughout 2026, our Great Spa Towns have been planning events that bring World Heritage to the forefront. Different themes have been explored — from ‘spa architecture’ to conservation techniques and even the role spa towns have played in the development of European music.
Below is a summary of what has happened so far, but events will continue to run until September 2026.
Bad Kissingen, Germany
A full day of events took over one of the town’s heritage buildings — the former chapel cemetery.
Guided tours and lectures explained how to manage and preserve World Heritage. From methods of restoring stone blocks in the Chapel Cemetery to cleaning techniques for monuments, visitors could see the wide range of conservation techniques used to preserve spa town heritage.
A highlight was a visit from the Jugendbauhütte, an organisation that gets young people involved in monument restoration.
Among many information booths, a popular stall was a display of sweet treats from across the 11 towns in The Great Spa Towns of Europe. Traditional treats, such as chocolates, spa wafers, pastilles and sweets, were handed out for visitors to sample.
Spa, Belgium
Spa created an outdoor exhibition to mark the anniversary and share the story of European spa heritage across all 11 spa towns.
Instead of being situated in one place, the exhibition is formed of 13 large panels installed throughout the City of Spa, forming a walking route that allows visitors to discover The Great Spa Towns of Europe.
There is information about The Great Spa Towns of Europe as a whole, as well as a mini guide to each of the 11 towns. Each panel shows the similarity to the City of Spa, showing how common features unite each town.
Baden-Baden, Germany
Baden-Baden’s celebrations focused on the town’s role in the development of music in Europe.
Its popular annual tango event ran in the colonnades of the historic Trinkhalle, while talks and guided tours explored iconic buildings, like the casino and theatre.
The Kurgarten was transformed into a scene from the heyday of The Great Spa Towns of Europe, featuring groups in period attire, performances, music and dance.
A screening of the silent film “Der Skandal in Baden-Baden” concluded the weekend. New music was composed especially for the event, and the score was performed live on the day by the Philharmonie Baden-Baden in the Kurhaus’ Weinbrenner Saal.
Bad Ems, Germany
Bad Ems is running an entire series of anniversary series: “Ein Sommer im Welterbe” (A Summer in World Heritage). Five weekends of events will each be themed on a different heritage attribute.
The first weekend kicked off on 7th June, focusing on spa architecture. Alongside guided tours through the town, there were pop-up events in key historic buildings bringing music, poetry, dance, readings, exhibitions and children’s activities to places that might otherwise be easily overlooked.
Montecatini Terme, Italy
The Tuscan town celebrated our anniversary with the Montecatini UNESCO Arts Festival, which welcomed more than 6,900 participants!
From 1st – 6th July, each evening was themed on a different aspect of Montecatini Terme’s history, identity and Outstanding Universal Value.
The opening evening saw 1,700 people attend a performance from the Ballet School of the Accademia Tetro alla Scala, celebrating the town’s long-standing artistic tradition. Rai Radio3’s live programme ‘Pianeta Acqua’ highlighted the central role of water as the foundation of spa culture; Concita De Gregorio’s performance ‘La Cura’ reflected on the concept of care, which lies at the heart of the identity of The Great Spa Towns of Europe; the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s performance of ‘Carmina Burana’ at the Terme Tettuccio anticipated the joint celebrations that next year will mark the centenary of both the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Terme Tettuccio, founded in 1927.
Vichy, France
Every July, Vichy hosts a grand party to honour another Great Spa Town to coincide with the inscription anniversary. In 2026, Vichy chose the British City of Bath.
A festive weekend with a distinctly British flair, the celebrations included a tour of a London Bus and vintage cars, historical reenactments, period workshops, a film conference, live music, theatre and dance.
Events included a concert of Queen’s greatest hits and performances of the great classics of English music by the Bristol Ensemble. Bath Natural Theatre Company created an immersive discovery of the Roman era and later created theatrical scenes from the Georgian era. Similarly, The Jane Austen Dancers offered demonstrations of 18th century English dances. The Victorian era was also re-enacted with period characters, workshops in fencing, archery, period games and activities.
Throughout the weekend ran an exhibition: “A Comparative Portrait of Europe’s Great Spa Towns: Bath” to discover the links between the French and British spa towns.
City of Bath, United Kingdom
An anniversary exhibition curated by student researcher Darcy Mitchell will become part of the permanent exhibition at the Bath Visitor Centre. This exhibition explores the history of The Great Spa Towns of Europe and aspects of Bath’s history that connect it to European spa culture.
In April 2027, the city will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the inscription of the City of Bath as an individual UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Delegates and performers from Bath also visited Vichy in July 2026 for the anniversary celebrations.
Baden bei Wien, Austria
The anniversary celebrations in Baden bei Wien coincided with the 100th anniversary of the historic Thermalstrandbad (Lido). The largest sandy beach in Austria opened on 24th July 1926, meeting the inscription of The Great Spa Towns of Europe on 24th July 2021.
Celebrations included charity swims, workshops on beach volleyball and activities for children.