The pools at the famous Hungarian cave baths of Miskolcstapolc have fallen victim to rising gas prices. Visitors have been coming to the huge cave since pre-Roman times to bathe in its naturally heated waters. In recent years, gas has been used here to increase the temperature in the pools and caves, especially in winter.
The cave has five bathing halls and labyrinth passages with massage jets. On Monday, it was closed indefinitely. “We are forced to close for one reason – using gas for three months from October to December will cost an additional $140,000,” CEO Judith Nemeth said, according to New TV.
The closures will inevitably affect hotels, guesthouses, and other tourism businesses on the outskirts – a worrying sign for an industry that has only recently begun to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Customers taking a last dip in the water before the weekend said they were still hoping for a last-minute reprieve. “I can’t understand how to close such a wonderful complex. The government supports all kinds of things. Could they support this a little bit too?” – asked Andrea Muska, relaxing in one of the pools. “The hotels will go bankrupt because they depend on it,” added her husband, Karoli Keresi.
The government has provided financial assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises in key supply chains in the manufacturing sector to cope with rising energy costs but has yet to offer help to the services sector.
“If we can somehow find an energy-efficient way to replace this huge increase in the price of gas, and if we can get some assistance, then we will immediately begin to explore that possibility,” Nemeth said.