Swoszowice spa: sulphide baths in Kraków

Swoszowice is a spa within Kraków, on the city's southern edge by the Wilga river. Its operator stresses that it is the only spa in Poland, and one of few in Europe, working inside a large urban agglomeration. Its main treasure is sulphide water, used for treatment for more than two hundred years. The first description of the springs was left in 1578 by Wojciech Oczko, physician to King Stefan Batory, in his work "Cieplice", which noted their value in rheumatism. In 1795 the owners of the time put up three huts of clay and brushwood by the springs, grandly calling them the "Baths", and the organised spa began in 1811, when the Jagiellonian University professor Feliks Radwański built the first spa house and laid out the park that still grows today. The heyday came in the second half of the 19th century, when the spa was supported by the physician Józef Dietl; in 2011 Swoszowice celebrated its bicentenary. The spa is run by the municipal company Uzdrowisko Kraków Swoszowice Sp. z o.o.

Mineral waters and natural resources

About 20 million years ago this was a shallow bay of the Miocene sea where gypsum and barite were deposited; groundwater leached sulphur from the gypsum, and so the Swoszowice waters were formed. Today it is a chemically uniform sulphate-hydrogencarbonate-calcium-magnesium water with a mineralisation of 2.51 g per litre and about 70 mg of hydrogen sulphide per litre – more than in Busko-Zdrój or Krzeszowice. The water is slightly yellowish and smells of rotten eggs. It is not drunk: Swoszowice water is used for therapeutic and preventive baths, full and partial. The main active factor is the sulphide ion, which passes well through the skin, curbs inflammation and improves circulation. Besides the water, the spa uses peat mud (borowina) for packs.

What is treated

Within the National Health Fund the spa works in the profiles of orthopaedics, rheumatology and osteoporosis. In practice it treats and rehabilitates spinal conditions (disc disease, hernias, sciatica, degenerative changes), rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, gout), the after-effects of injuries and operations on the shoulder, knee and hip, joint replacements, and skin diseases – above all psoriasis. Sulphide baths are also indicated for osteoporosis, peripheral circulation disorders and Raynaud's disease, atopic dermatitis and eczema. Besides the baths there are peat packs, cryotherapy, hydrotherapy (pearl baths, underwater massage), physiotherapy, kinesitherapy and massage. All treatment is approved by a doctor: the spa has a list of medical contraindications.

Treatments for visitors

Most treatments can be bought without a referral. Under the price list valid from 6 July 2026, a therapeutic sulphide bath costs 70 zł for 10 minutes or 92 zł for 15 minutes, and a package of 10 baths from 640 zł. For those who come without medical documents there is a preventive bath at a lower concentration (80 zł for 15 minutes) and the "Gold of Swoszowice" set – a preventive bath plus a 20-minute hydro-jet massage for 135 zł; treatments marked with an asterisk in the price list need no tests, but a doctor must rule out contraindications. Other prices: peat pack 55 zł, cryotherapy 37 zł, pearl bath 75 zł, manual underwater massage 85 zł, doctor's consultation to select treatments 270 zł. There are also "Health" packages of 5 or 10 treatment days with a doctor's visit – no referral needed.

Practical information

The spa is at ul. Kąpielowa 70. City buses from Borek Fałęcki, Kurdwanów and Łagiewniki stop at Park Zdrojowy, about 50 m from the Main Spa House; the Kraków Swoszowice railway halt is also nearby. Registration and treatment planning are open Monday to Friday 7:30–16:00 and Saturday 7:00–14:30. Swoszowice is easy to combine with a day in Kraków: two hours are enough for one bath and a rest in the park.

Nearby: trails, peaks, sights

The long Swoszowice – Szczawa trail starts at the spa and heads south to the Beskids. Some fifteen kilometres east is underground treatment of the airways at the Wieliczka Salt Mine Health Resort.

Official website: uzdrowisko.krakow.pl

Photos: Januszk57, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Janusz Krzyżek (User:Januszk57), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Gagad at Polish Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.