Healing Springs & Peat Baths

The term healing springs refers to spring waters that have a therapeutic effect on the human body. Compared with ordinary springs, they contain higher levels of dissolved substances. The precise composition of each spring, as well as its healing effects, has now been scientifically studied and established.

Numerous examples of healing springs can be found along the Baltic Sea coast and in its hinterland, some of which have been used for decades. In most cases, the places where the springs rise to the surface were given the permanent prefix “Bad” (spa) before their names in German-speaking countries. The use of peat for medical purposes also has a long tradition.

Examples include:
Bad Malente-Gremsmühlen has held the title “Bad” since 1996 (Kneipp health resort Malente). The focus is on treatments based on the methods of Sebastian Kneipp, even though there is no healing spring.
Bad Schwartau, just outside Lübeck, has borne the name “Bad” since 1913, following the discovery of an iodine brine spring in 1895.
Bad Segeberg was awarded the title “Bad” in 1924 on account of the Kalkberg brine, which has been used since 1884.
Bad Doberan has for decades been known for peat treatments at its rehabilitation clinic. The peat is extracted from a quarry operated by the clinic near the town.
Bad Sülze, about 25 km southeast of Ribnitz-Damgarten, has a centuries-old tradition of brine baths, originating as a by-product of salt production.
Heringsdorf iodine brine is extracted from a depth of more than 400 metres and used locally.
The brine spring discovered around 1900 near Kamień Pomorski (Cammin), east of the island of Wolin and not far from the Polish Baltic coast, laid the foundations for the sanatorium that still operates today.
Various mineral springs also helped drive the growth of spa tourism in Kołobrzeg (Bad Kolberg) on the Polish Baltic coast.