History of the spa

1st and 2nd CENTURIES

There is historical proof that the Romans, including Julius Caesar, used the thermal water from Caldes de Boí for therapeutic reasons.

11th CENTURY

The beneficial and therapeutic effects of the water was linked to healing miracles. Its reputation spread and visitor numbers grew to such a degree that it was necessary to build accommodation.

11th CENTURY

15th CENTURY

At the end of the 15th century, the San Roque Board was appointed, made up of the oldest parish priests from the Boí Valley and three wealthy owners. This board coordinated and managed the massive influx of pilgrims and bathers to the Caldes de Boí Sanctuary.

15th CENTURY

17th CENTURY

By 1657 there was already a bath house, a kind of rudimentary spa where monks received the unwell who had paid their way there.

17th CENTURY

19th CENTURY

Due to its religious nature, Caldes de Boí was subject to the Mendizábal Confiscation Law and in 1834 management was handed over to the Provincial Council of Lleida. In 1868 the first natural stove was installed. On 20 December 1887, the healing mineral water from Caldes de Boí was declared to be a public utility. Federico Vallmitjana, a jeweller from Barcelona, purchased the Caldes Baths from the Provincial Council of Lleida in 1896.

19th CENTURY

20th CENTURY

María José Joaniquet, Federico Vallmitjana’s granddaughter, married the Swiss Walter Ankli, who visited the Pyrenees and the Boí Valley in the 50s and fell in love with the area because it reminded him of his home country. He decided to buy the spa and started investing in it.

20th CENTURY

21th Century

The variety of water types at Caldes de Boí is so unique and incomparable that it has been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records thanks to its 37 different springs.

Between 2002 and 2006, both the Thermal Centre and the Manantial and Caldes hotels were renovated. Caldes currently practises traditional and authentic balneotherapy that is a benchmark in the world of Pyrenean health tourism . It is located in the unique natural and cultural setting of the Boí Valley.

With the expertise of the MartiDerm group, the natural, active and hypoallergenic cosmetics brand Boí Thermal was created in 2018. A unique line capable of providing the skin with a unique and age-old active ingredient: the thermal healing mineral water from Caldes de Boí.

Despite the fact that it has taken more than 2,000 years, the wait was worth it.

21th Century