| Fontaine Chaude | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within France | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | neoclassic |
| Town or city | Dax |
| Country | France |
| Coordinates | 43°25′26″N1°01′52″W / 43.4239°N 1.031°W |
| Construction started | 1814 |
| Completed | 1818 |
La Fontaine chaude is a spa located in the centre of Dax. The fountain itself is a Monument historique since 1946, while the portico and the remains of older structures around the fountain were registered on September 9, 1988. [1]
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
Dax is a commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France, sub-prefecture of the Landes department.
Monument historique is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, garden, bridge, or other structure, because of their importance to France's architectural and historical cultural heritage. Both public and privately owned structures may be listed in this way, as well as also movable objects. As of 2012 there were 44,236 monuments listed.
The fountain was built from 1814 to 1818, under the reign of Louis XVIII, upon the remains of older therms from the Roman period which given the waters' high temperature (86 °C) could also be used for cooking.
Louis XVIII, known as "the Desired", was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a period in 1815 known as the Hundred Days. He spent twenty-three years in exile, from 1791 to 1814, during the French Revolution and the First French Empire, and again in 1815, during the period of the Hundred Days, upon the return of Napoleon I from Elba.
Roman Gaul refers to Gaul under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.
The water is well known for its healing properties. A legend reports of a garrisoned Roman soldier who had a dog crippled with rheumatism. On call-up and aware that his poor dog could no longer follow him, he resorted to throw it into the Adour river. On his return he was overwhelmed to find his dog reanimated by the thermal mud where it had ended up on the riverbank.
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is an umbrella term for conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints and/or connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology. The term "rheumatism", however, does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions.
The Adour is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), at the Col du Tourmalet, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Bayonne. It is 324 kilometres (201 mi) long, of which the uppermost 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) as the Adour du Tourmalet. At its final stretch, i.e. on its way through Bayonne and a short extent upstream, the river draws the borderline between the Northern Basque Country and Landes regions.
The water is also employed to treat phlebological and gynecological disorders. The "Dax Peloid" is a natural medication, obtained from the spa waters along with algae and silt from the Adour river. [2]
Peloid is mud, or clay used therapeutically, as part of balneotherapy, or therapeutic bathing. Peloids consist of humus and minerals formed over many years by geological and biological, chemical and physical processes.
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