Overview
Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its historic baths fed by three hot springs. It is situated 99 miles (159 km) west of Central London and 13 miles (21 km) south east of Bristol.

The city is founded around the only naturally occurring hot springs in the United Kingdom. It was first documented as a Roman spa, although tradition suggests that it was founded earlier. The waters from its spring were believed to be a cure for many afflictions. From Elizabethan to Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of Georgian architecture, most notably the Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 90,144 and is a World Heritage Site.

During the 18th century, Bath became the leading centre of fashionable life in England. It was during this time that Bath's Theatre Royal was built, as well as architectural triumphs such as Royal Crescent, Lansdown Crescent,[9] the Royal Crescent,[10] The Circus and Pulteney Bridge.[11]

History
The archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths' main spring was treated as a shrine by the Celts, and dedicated to the goddess Sulis. The Romans probably occupied Bath shortly after their invasion of Britain in 43 AD. They knew it as Aquae Sulis (literally "the waters of Sul"), identifying the goddess with Minerva. In Roman times the worship of Sulis Minerva continued and messages to her scratched onto metal have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists. These are known as curse tablets. These curse tablets were written in Latin, and usually laid curses on other people, whom they feel had done them wrong. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the Baths, he would write a curse on a tablet, to be read by the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and also, the "suspected" names would be mentioned. The collection from Bath is the most important found in Britain.

During the Roman period increasingly grand temples and bathing complexes were built, including the Great Bath. Rediscovered gradually from the 18th century onward, they have become one of the city's main attractions. The city was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. From the later 4th century on, the Western Roman Empire and its urban life declined. However, while the great suite of baths at Bath fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs continued.

Culture
Today, Bath has five theatres - Bath Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, The Egg, the Rondo Theatre, and the Mission Theatre - and attracts internationally renowned companies and directors, including an annual season by Sir Peter Hall. The city also has a long-standing musical tradition; Bath Abbey[12] is home to the Klais Organ and is the largest concert venue in the city, with about 20 concerts and 26 organ recitals each year. Another important concert venue is the Forum, a 1700-seat art deco building which originated as a cinema. The city holds the Bath International Music Festival and Mozartfest every year. Other festivals include the annual Bath Film Festival, Bath Literature Festival, the Bath Fringe Festival and the Bath Beer Festival.

The city is home to the Victoria Art Gallery,[13] the Museum of East Asian Art, and The Holburne Museum of Art,[14] as well as numerous museums, among them The Bath Postal Museum, The Museum of Costume, The Jane Austen Centre, the William Herschel Museum and the Roman Baths.[15] The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, now in Queen Square, and founded in 1824 on the base of a 1777 Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, Planting, Manufactures, Commerce and the Fine Arts, has an important collection and holds a rich and popular programme of talks and discussions. See 'Places of interest' below for details of many other places of artistic, cultural and historical interest.

There are numerous commercial art galleries and antique shops in Bath, which is one of the most important centres of the English antiques trade outside London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset