Derenivska Kupil mineral water, Nyzhnie Solotvyno

Derenivska Kupil is a mineral water from the wellness resort of the same name in Nyzhnie Solotvyno, about 12 km from Uzhhorod. A modern bottling plant stands right on the resort grounds among the wooded hills of the Derenivka valley, and the water is bottled where it comes out of the ground. For travellers it is a rare chance to taste water at the very source of a spring whose healing powers were written about centuries ago.

A spa with four hundred years of history

According to archive material gathered by the resort, the first documented mention of the bath in the Derenivka valley dates from 1582, when the magnate Miklós Korlát went to court against the Drugeth family over the local forests and the healing bath. A local priest's letters of 1634 call it “Derentse”, and Habsburg records of 1692 name it “Derenus Zilbers wasser” — “silver water”, the name that also appears on the bath's old coat of arms. In 1705, during the war between Francis II Rákóczi and the Habsburgs, the bath was destroyed, but it was quickly rebuilt, so highly was the water valued. In 1935 the scientist František Wiesner, in his study of the mineral springs of Subcarpathian Ruthenia, recommended it to all citizens of Czechoslovakia, and in Soviet times the Kooperator sanatorium operated here. The name itself comes from the cornelian cherry — “deren” — that once grew in the valley.

Why go

The resort does not advertise separate tours of the plant, so this is not a classic craft tour but a chance to combine discovering the water with a break. The 20-hectare grounds hold three Austro-Hungarian-style hotels, SPA complexes with pools fed by thermal water (it rises hot, at about 43 °C), health and hydrotherapy programmes, an arboretum and a sculpture park, and a cascade of restored ponds. The resort map marks a pump room where you can taste the water on the spot. The resort also hosts festivals, including a wine festival — the events calendar is on its website.

What to taste and buy

Two kinds of water are bottled at the plant:

• Derenivska Kupil drinking water — for everyday use. Studies by the Marzieiev Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology found a rich mineral profile with natural silica, iodine, zinc and copper, dominated by bicarbonates. A light everyday water that makes a good souvenir of Zakarpattia.
• Derenivska medicinal table water — holds balneological certificate No. 179 of 5 December 2025 from the Ukrainian Research Institute of Medical Rehabilitation and Balneology. As with any medicinal water, drink it in courses on a doctor's advice.

To keep the natural composition intact, the water is bottled using the “unbroken stream” method: it never meets the air and is not trucked anywhere, but goes into bottles right by the well, in glass and in easily recyclable PET. Zakarpattia is famous for its mineral springs — from the carbonated waters around Svaliava to the silica waters of the foothills — and Derenivska adds another water with a long history to the collection. Ask the plant by phone where to buy it retail and whether it is sold on the resort grounds.

Practical information

• Address: Nyzhnie Solotvyno 150, Uzhhorod district, Zakarpattia region (grounds of the Derenivska Kupil wellness resort).
• Mineral water plant: +380504406669, +380312428120, [email protected].
• Room booking: +380504000188, [email protected]; website derenivska-kupil.ua.
• Season: the resort and the bottling plant work all year.
• Plant tours are not confirmed — if you want to see production, arrange it in advance.

Please confirm by phone before your trip.

Getting there

Nyzhnie Solotvyno lies east of Uzhhorod in the foothills, about 12 km from the city centre — 20–25 minutes by car or taxi. Uzhhorod is the terminus for trains from Kyiv, Lviv and other cities and a hub for bus routes, so the easiest way is to reach the city by train and continue by car. Ask at Uzhhorod bus station about local buses to Nyzhnie Solotvyno, as timetables change.

Website and social media: derenivska-kupil.ua · facebook.com

Photos: derenivska-kupil.ua.