History of the Spa
From an early age, the waters of Caldas da Felgueira obtained their due recognition.
The first reference to the thermal waters of Felgueira is found in the “Memories of the Parish” commissioned in 1758 by the Marquis of Pombal: “... the existence of a hot sulfuric spring at the edge of the Vale de Madeiros place ...”.
At the beginning of the 19th century, they are referred to by Fathers José Lourenço and José Inácio de Oliveira, from Canas de Senhorim, as a place where herds in transhumance passed from Serra da Estrela and where the wounds on the animals' paws healed there.
In 1818, there were already 50 inhabitants and 13 houses of permanent residence: and it was until this date that the calm was verified. Later, the first believers in the benefits of these waters began to arrive, coming from Tondela and Gouveia: they came in search of the answers to their problems, believing that it would be in these waters that they would find them.
In 1867, the Universal Exhibition in Paris recognized and rewarded the waters of Felgueira, justifying the growing demand for them - a fact that, with the opening of the Beira Alta railways, allowed an adequacy of the thermal offer, which until then was insufficient. It was by José Maria Marques Caldeira that the first concession for the exploration of these waters was born. The license was granted by CM de Nelas on December 24, 1880 and on August 7, 1882 the Companhia das Águas medicinais da Felgueira, SARL was born.
In 1886 the Companhia do Grande Hotel was created Club das Caldas da Felgueira and construction began on the spa that was born by the design and monitoring of works by the architect Rodrigo Maria Bercquo, Marquês de Cantagallo. It was inaugurated on June 5, 1887 and its first Clinical Director was Dr. João Felício, a natural doctor from Canas de Senhorim. In 1995, construction began on the new thermal center, which started operating in 1997, 115 years after the creation of the Companhia das Águas Medicinais da Felgueira.
Since 1997, the new Thermal Center has been a guarantee of technical sophistication and professional quality: it was in order to continue this guarantee that in early 2007 the Companhia das Águas Medicinais da Felgueira was acquired by Patris Capital, a venture capital company, which adjusted its offer, concept, image and communication to the needs of modern times.
