The spa space over time: The case of the São Pedro do sul medical spa (Portugal).

São Pedro do Sul medical spa facilities are supplied by natural hot mineral water, from several groundwater abstractions, one of which is a natural hot spring with a temperature around 68.6°C, maintaining a constant flow of about 10 L/s, as registered in the last decades, although it can be likely that, according to the available data, this flow and temperature has presented itself steady for past millenniums. Well, a natural resource, with these characteristics, was certainly a motive of search and likely even disputes most probably since the time of the last glaciation, more than 10,000 years ago, in which the entire region where São Pedro do Sul is currently located, it would have been essentially covered by snow. This situation, since the most ancient times, has had an almost constant occupation leading to various constructions that suffered metamorphoses over time, with perfect evidence found at the time of the Romans, around 2000 years ago, later during the reign of the first king of Portugal (King Afonso Henriques) around 1169 A.D, ending at the time period of the last Portuguese Queen (Queen D. Amélia), around 120 years ago. Currently, the São Pedro do Sul medical spa has two bathing facilities operating simultaneously: the Thermal Center (known today as D. Afonso Henriques Bathhouse), and Rainha D. Amélia Bathhouse. It has been the Medical Spa of Portugal that has had the most revenues for several decades, having already exceeded in some years the 5.000.000 € /year, essentially from the classical health thermalism, although in the concession it is also officially stated the use of wellness thermalism, the sale of cosmetic products and the sale of energy from the heat produced by the resource. Thus, due to the importance of this resource, it is fundamental to have research on the various areas of knowledge associated with it. In the present paper, after a brief presentation of factual elements about the place, characteristics of the resource, and economic elements, an explanation is made about the place and equipment for the exploitation of the resource, presenting elements about the human occupation around it, throughout the time, showing finally, the actual panorama of the organization of the thermal space, between the Bathhouses and other types of equipment, as hotels, gardens, leisure spaces, and others, of the area of the São Pedro do Sul medical Spa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]