The Thermal Heritage of Europe is represented by natural, cultural, and intangible resources which are applied to the objectives of promoting health and wellbeing, giving birth to the first tourist destinations.
This complex phenomenon needs to be recognize as one of the foundation stones of europe, and instrument for an integrated sustainable development.
Thermalism in Europe: some figures
Clients
Bottling Plants
Employees
Spa Centers
Most of these references are estimations
We need qualified data
The Thermal Atlas is a project which is being developed by the Scientific Committee of EHTTA, an ambitious initiative for the study of the Thermal Heritage of Europe, mapping spa towns across the continent.
The Thermal Atlas aims to become the most complete resource on thermalism in Europe, building an essential database and geographical information system (GIS) on the resources that have made thermal towns key actors in the history and identity of Europe.
By identifying and cataloguing the different element that constitutes this heriatge, making them easly accesible, the Atlas can be an incredibly useful resource for understanding, developing, and crucially, protecting, Europe's thermal heritage.
More over, The Atlas could be the basis of a thermal observatory in Europe.
The Atlas gathers together information in fifteen categories, covering the natural heritage (the springs), the cultural heritage (the thermal buildings, hotels, and built landscape) and the intangible heritage (events, stories and people), as well as data about infrastructure, promotion, research and water-based industries.
This project is managed by an international cross-disciplinary team and has been implemented in EHTTA member towns as Bath, Mondariz-Balneario or Caldas da Rainha
The Thermal Atlas is an initiative aligned with the objectives and the spirit of the European Year of Cultural Heritage
For 2018, the Atlas has be submitted as the core theme for two European call of proposals lead by EHTTA:
- Thermal Heritage of Europe Network (the network): Horizon 2020 Programme - International network to promote cultural heritage innovation and diplomacy
- Thermal Heritage of Europe Atlas:The First Drops (THEA): Creative Europe - Support for European cooperation projects 2018
