Srpske Toplice: A spa with a story

The area of the Republic of Srpska is rich with healing mineral, thermal and thermomineral waters. Various archaeological researches witness to the existence of healing properties of thermal mineral waters, even in the time of the ancient Romans. Today, the areas with the mineral springs have been converted into spa centers with health, recreational, accommodation and catering facilities. In the close proximity of Banjaluka, on the banks of the Vrbas River, there is the spa and recreation center of Gornji Šeher, today known as Srpske Toplice, an area with eight thermo-mineral springs with a temperature of 34°C, which was declared a national monument with an interesting history. The objective of the paper is to show the development of the Srpske Toplice spa through history and the creation of modern tourist products of health tourism, which meet the needs of modern man, both for recreation and health preservation, and for treatment and recovery.