Square of the Visionaries in Bad Blumau

When the impossible becomes possible, fairytales come true and joie de vivre awakens, then you have arrived in Bad Blumau. From what was then a rural community to a renowned and recognised spa and centre of attraction for guests and art lovers from all over the world.

A world unicum was created.

• -It all began at the end of the 1970s. Oil was being drilled in the former Blumau. They did indeed find it, but at a depth of 2,843 metres it was not the crude oil they had longed for, but "only" water at a temperature of one hundred degrees. The well was sealed with concrete and set aside for eternal rest.
• -Stimulated by the general development of tourism, a few years later the municipal secretary, Herr Karl Semmler, turned to Mr. Robert Rogner with the data of the sealed spring. He examined the site and was fascinated by the gentle hilly landscape of Eastern Styria. Subject to the data of the spring withstanding a long-term test, a tourism development was promised by Mr. KR Rogner.

• The Styrian government funded the re-drilling of the borehole, and long term testing confirmed the outstanding quality of the water. KR Rogner funded the drilling of two further boreholes and acquired 40 hectares of land from local farmers at consistently fair prices. A hotel village was planned on the model of the nine successful Rogner hotel villages.

• However, on 15th January 1992, KR Rogner met the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser by chance at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The combination of hundred degree water and the architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser – the start of a pioneering project. A vision became reality.

Rogner Bad Blumau, the world‘s biggest liveable work of art. Its symbiotic design merges people, water, nature and architecture into a harmonious whole. Hundertwasser‘s architecture was perfectly realised by KR Robert Rogner, with walkable green roofs that form an integral part of the landscape, uneven floors, bright colours, shapes and asymmetrical windows. Today the spa is also affectionately known as The Land of Rolling Hills – an apt
description for this amazing complex full of peaceful corners that acts as a sustainable, forward looking driving force for the entire local economy. A unique place, for unique people.

Just a few steps and you come to the Bad Blumau spa gardens, where there are interesting things to discover at every turn.