1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Mehádia

MEHÁDIA, a market town of Hungary, in the county of Krassó-Szörény, 287 m. S.E. of Budapest by rail. Pop. (1900), 2492. The town is the site of the ancient Roman colony Ad Mediam, near which passed the Roman road from the Danube to Dacia. It contains the ruins of a fortress, and other Roman remains. In its neighbourhood are the famous Hercules baths (Hungarian, Herkulesfürdö). These are situated in a narrow rocky ravine in the valley of the Cserna, where there are 22 hot springs, of which nine are in use, the most powerful being the Hercules spring. The springs are all strongly impregnated with salts of sulphur, iodine, bromine and chlorine, and their average temperature is 70° to 145° F. They were famous in the Roman period under the name of Thermae Herculis or Fontes Herculis. Their popularity is attested by numerous inscriptions and relics. After the fall of the Roman Empire they fell into disuse until 1735, but in modern times they have been much frequented.