Rimske Toplice, two thousand years of bathing by the Savinja

A village by the river

Rimske Toplice had 787 inhabitants in the SURS figures for early 2026 and lies within Laško municipality. The tourist board places it on the Savinja between Laško and Zidani Most, and the spa reckons 20 to 25 minutes from the Celje-vzhod exit of the Ljubljana to Maribor motorway.

What did the Romans leave behind?

The Romans built baths at these springs and called them Aquae Vivae, living waters. Marble altars and votive stones dedicated to the nymphs and to Valetudo, the Roman goddess of health, have been found here, along with mosaics and coins. A document of 1328, in which the prior of the nearby Jurklošter charterhouse allowed its sale, proves the spa was working in the Middle Ages.

Amalia, Uhlich and the 19th-century resort

The big change came in 1840, when the Trieste merchant Gustav Adolf Uhlich bought the baths. According to the spa, he did so after his wife Amalia recovered thanks to the water, and the Amalija spring is named after her. Uhlich built the Zofijin dvorec, and in 1848 the Vienna to Trieste railway arrived, with a station just below.

Guests then included, according to the spa, Princess Victoria of Britain and Prussia, Napoleon’s sister Princess Murat, the writer Franz Grillparzer, Vuk Karadžić and Emperor Ferdinand. The tourist board says the park was famous as the most beautiful in Slovenia, and that guests planted exotic trees there to give thanks for their cure. The giant sequoias were planted in honour of Queen Victoria.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Rimske Toplice before prices climb.

From army hospital to reopening

In the Second World War the German army turned it into a hospital, and until 1991 the Yugoslav army ran it as a centre for officers. After twenty years closed, it reopened in 2011 with three restored historic hotels, Sofijin dvor, Zdraviliški dvor and Rimski dvor, totalling 357 beds, indoor and outdoor pools and a wellness and rehabilitation centre. The water, which rises at 36 to 38 °C from the Amalija and Roman springs, is one of the most mineral-rich in the country according to analyses the spa quotes. The thermal temple is dedicated to the nymphs and has four stone baths and six modern ones for two.

Rimske Toplice or Laško?

I’d treat it as Laško’s quiet, more old-fashioned counterpart and combine it with Anton Aškerc’s house museum in Senožete. Among the spas in Slovenia, Rimske Toplice is one with the most history, right in the heart of Savinjska and close to Celje.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Rimske Toplice and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Rimske Toplice before prices climb.