Discover our heritage

Spa has several buildings with characteristics specific to the Art Nouveau movement: use of coloured materials and new materials (iron, steel), research into a decorative language drawing its repertoire from the plant and organic world. This style also developed through sgraffito or mosaic panels, stained glass windows, woodwork, bow windows, cornices with large overhangs, and the play of curves and counter-curves.In some of the buildings on the tour, Art Nouveau elements have been discreetly integrated to decorate more classical or traditional facades. The expression Art Nouveau evokes a deliberate break with 19th century architecture, which was attached to historical and eclectic styles. Art Nouveau sought a rational architecture, but freed from conventional rules. This new style has its origins in the romantic perception of nature.We invite you to discover our spa town, the original town of the spa tradition which gave its name "Spa" to all the spa towns in the world. Spa is a founding member of the Association of European Historic Thermal Towns and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2021, along with 10 other European thermal towns. It is precisely this heritage, linked to Art Nouveau, that we propose to discover along this route.The circular walk starts at the Tourist Office (rue du Marché 1A) and, from the start, you will discover two magnificent houses in front of you

With the precious collaboration - writing and illustration - of Mrs Martine MARCHAL, founding member of SPA PATRIMOINE ASBL

BIBLIOGRAPHY
SCHILS, Marie-Christine, Fleurons de l'architecture Art nouveau 
in Spa, in Histoire et Archéologie spadoise, Spa, Villa royale 
Marie-Henriette No. 76, 1993.
KRINS, Vanessa, Le patrimoine de Spa, carnets du patrimoine, n°57, Stavelot 2009.
WALLONNE REGION - AwaP, Inventaire du Patrimoine Culturel Immobilier, 2017.
www.wallonie.be/patrimoine/ipic
*TEXT AND PHOTOS - SPA PATRIMOINE ASBL

Thanks to the beauty of its site and its mineral springs with curative virtues, Spa very quickly developed important infrastructures infrastructure directly linked to thermalism: thermal baths, playhouses, covered galleries, hotels, etc. In addition to these facilities, a new type of architecture also appeared in the spa town: the villa. From the end of the 19th century onwards, these were built on the outskirts of the urban core as second homes, offering a worldly image of the spa. This resort phenomenon lasted for several decades.According to a census carried out in Spa in 1903, there were more than 300 villas with identified signs. In fact, a name often personifies them: a family name, a wife's first name, a reference to a characteristic of the place. Some villas bear a woman's first name. Here's an invitation to discover them and identify their characteristics. Many villas have been known by a particular name since they were built. changed their name, often with the arrival of a new owner. Others simply no longer have a name to identify them visually on their facade. Archives, postcards and old views can help us rediscover the trace of these names.
The term villa, associated with spa towns and seaside resorts refers to an elegant house located close to the town and surrounded surrounded by lush greenery. Certain architectural elements are systematically found here. The upper floor or ground floor opens onto a wide terrace, and balconies balconies stretch along the facades, and there are plenty of bow windows to take advantage of nature and the landscape. Large overhanging roofs protect the façades and rest on wooden wooden brackets. The general layout is often irregular, and the building materials are traditional. False half-timbering, consisting of painted plaster, is very popular in Spa.
We invite you to discover our spa town, the birthplace of the spa tradition that gave its name "Spa" to spa towns the world over. A founding member of the Association of European Historic Thermal Towns, Spa has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since July 2021, alongside ten other exceptional spa towns. It is precisely this heritage, linked to women, that we invite you to discover along this route, whose villas described are arranged in alphabetical order by street name.
Villas in Spa 
1. VILLA DE L’AMBLÈVE, Avenue de Barisart, N°1622. VILLA MADONA, Avenue de Barisart, N° 2083. VILLA SANTA MARIA, Avenue de Barisart, N°2114. VILLA ALEXANDRA, Boulevard Chapman, N°1 5. LES QUINTUPLÉES, Avenue Clémentine, N°12 à 206. VILLA ORIZABA, Avenue Clémentine, N°267. VILLA MARIE-THERESE, Promenade Hanrion, N°28. VILLA SOPHIA, Boulevard Lühr, N°249. VILLA MARIE-HENRIETTE, Avenue Marie-Henriette, N°510. VILLA MARGUERITE, Rue Gilles Ouda, N°711. VILLA MADELEINE, Route de Préfayhai, N°1-1a12. VILLA CECILE, Avenue Professeur Henrijean, N°313. VILLA IDA, Avenue Professeur Henrijean, N°1814. VILLA LILIA, Avenue Professeur Henrijean, N°2615. VILLA LA BUISSONNIÈRE, Avenue Professeur Henrijean, N°6316. VILLA FANNY, Avenue Reine Astrid, N°4517. LE VERT BOIS, Avenue Reine Astrid, N°4718. VILLA GERMAINE, Avenue Reine Astrid, N°14119. VILLA EMMA, Avenue Reine Astrid, N°14420. VILLA LEA, Avenue Reine Astrid, N°182-184.
HOUBRECHTS, David, Home, sweet home … Les villas de Spa, Liège, Les éditions de la Province de Liège, 2020
MARCHAL, Martine, Balmoral, quartier spadois, un patrimoine architectural et naturel, dans, B.I.A.L., t. CXXIV (2020), p.201-230.
JEHIN, Pol (sous la direction de), Connaître Spa, 7, De villas en châteaux par avenues et boulevards, Spa, 2003.
RÉGION WALLONNE – AWaP, Inventaire du Patrimoine Culturel Immobilier, 2017. www.wallonie.be/patrimoine/ipic

NB: video subtitles available in English 

Discover Spa presented and told by the people of Spa! 
Initiated and coordinated by the Spa-Jalhay-Stoumont Cultural Centre, EXPLORE MY CITY is a collective, federative and sustainable project through which the inhabitants of Spa from local associations present about twenty emblematic places of the Pearl of the Ardennes in a dynamic format of short video capsules that can be seen by all thanks to QR codes placed at the different places concerned.

Walking tour of about 6 km in the city centre of Spa and its surroundings.
Average duration of a video clip: 3 minutes
Approximate duration of the complete route with the 20 video clips: 2h15

Allocation of locations by associations:
- GENERAL PRESENTATION by the Cultural Centre team 
- LE POUHON PIERRE-LE-GRAND by the company Pas Sage
- LE POUHON PRINCE-DE-CONDÉ AND LES SOURCES by the PAC de Spa 
- L'HÔTEL DE VILLE by the AJC of Spa
- LES HÔTELS by L'Oxymore, literary circle of Spa
- LE CASINO by the Jeunes Alternative+ de Spa
- LE KURSAAL, LE SALON BLEU AND LE THÉÂTRE by Musique à Spa
- THE BATHS by the Young MR of Spa - Theux - Jalhay 
- THE VILLAS by Spa-Patrimoine
- LE PARC DE SEPT-HEURES by the Rétromobile Club de Spa
- THE LEOPOLD II GALLERY AND ITS PAVILIONS by the Royal Festival de Spa
- THE WALKS AND RECREATION by the Waux-Hall neighbourhood committee 
- THE CEMETERY by Réalités
- THE GLACIERES by the Domaine de Bérinzenne 
- LA VILLA ROYALE by the social integration service Les Hirondelles 
- LA GARE by the choir Les Gazouyeux 
- THE WASHING HOUSE by the Musée de la Lessive
- LE WAUX-HALL by the Avenir du Waux-Hall and the FPS de Spa
- LE BRITANNIQUE by La Raison, the free thinking circle
- LES LIEUX DE CULTES ET DE LIBRE PENSÉE by the André Prume Royal Choir and Robert Duysinx 

Source content and illustration: extract from the brochure Explore my city (2022)
SPA - JALHAY - STOUMONT Cultural Centre
rue Servais 8 - 4900 Spa
087/77.30.00
ccspa-jalhay-stoumont.be
info@ccspa.be

The Blue Line is a walk through the heart of the thermal town. Follow the steps and discover the major assets of the city. By passing through little-known corners but also through emblematic places of the city, you will perhaps discover another Spa, because if the city is known for its waters, its forests, its promenades and the thermal complex which compose it, it is also one of the most flowered cities of Wallonia. For the PRM, it will be necessary to shorten the itinerary by taking the Cockeril street in order to join the "place des Ecoles" (skipping the stairs). We wish you a wonderful discovery!Signs : blue paving stones on the ground

This free trail allows children accompanied by their parents to have fun discovering some of Spa's characteristic architectural heritage by answering questions about buildings of heritage value that they come across in the southern district and in a district of the city centre. For older children and their parents, additional information is provided as they explore the site. You'll find it in the boxes.
We invite you to discover this part of our spa town, the original spa town that gave its name "SPA" to spa towns all over the world, and which has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since July 2021 alongside ten other European spa towns.

WARNING

Be careful when crossing the streets. This activity is carried out under your own responsibility. SPA PATRIMOINE ASBL cannot be held responsible for any accidents that may occur during this activity. We hope you enjoy this activity.
Learn to look, in town or in the country. Old facades can tell stories and tell about their lives. You don't need to be an architect or a historian. Just take the time to look at them and read them. To look, in other words, to take the time to go beyond a simple passive vision of the object and the information it contains, to go and meet the monuments. Taking the time to look up, to notice, to discover, to wonder. Learning to look at the colour of materials, the shape of windows and roofs, spotting details and unusual features. Deciphering and noting the use of materials, spotting scars, seams, extensions and heightening. Understand that the building has lived, that it has undergone transformations, that it may have undergone the evolution of styles, that it has been brought up to date. 
Understand that one day, one of its inhabitants may have decided to lower the window sills to take better advantage of the natural light or, from his armchair, of the street scenes. Making a building speak, reading its façades. So many elements can say so much about one's life. Learning to look, going beyond a simple vague perception that trivialises the vision of architecture. Take the time to stop, to read a page of architecture of architecture, to understand it, to listen to it, like a history book.


1. LA FONTAINE MONUMENTALE
2. LES BALCONS
3. L’ÉGLISE ET LA PLACE ACHILLE SALÉE
4. RUE DU WAUX-HALL
5. LE WAUX-HALL
6. AVENUE ANTOINE POTTIER
7. AVENUE MARIE-THÉRÈSE
8. BOULEVARD RENER
9. PLACE DES ÉCOLES
10. PLACE VERTE 
11. PLACE DU MONUMENT
12. PLACE ROYALE 
13. RUE DELHASSE ET RUE DAGLY
14. POUHON PIERRE-LE-GRAND

The objective of SPA PATRIMOINE is to promote and safeguard the architectural, natural and cultural heritage of Spa, in particular by ensuring its promotion and understanding through the development of discovery activities, events and publications.

www.spapatrimoine.org

To find out more, visit
REGION WALLONNE - AWaP, Inventaire du Patrimoine Culturel Immobilier, 2017. 
www.wallonie.be/patrimoine/ipic
CURIEN Emeline et NELLES Norbert (sous la direction de), Guide architecture moderne et contemporaine 1868-2022- Verviers, Spa, Ostbelgien, cellule architecture de la fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, 2022
MARCHAL Martine, A la découverte du patrimoine architectural spadois, in MAUGIS- La revue des Amis de l'Ardenne, Spa, Perle de l'Ardenne, n°72, June 2021.

We invite you to discover the old villas of Spa and the Old Spa district (route B) via a somewhat sporty route, during which you will take several steps. This slightly "off the beaten track" route will take you into the history of Spa and show you two sides of the city. You will discover luxurious villas, witnesses of the mundane character of the spa town at the end of the 19th century, and you will understand how the old working quarter of the Vieux-Spa actively participated in the creation and success of the current spa town, member of the European Association of Historic Spa Towns and candidate for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list with the "Great European Spa Towns".
ATTENTION !!!Deviation during the works at the Anciens Bains.