Spas and baths in Hungary [antikvár]

I. In the recorded history of balneology and bathing it was liippocrates who first said that "nature cures diseases". During his time and ever since different ways of life and approaches to healing have both fought with each other and existed peacefully together. Life, however, could always be found near water, the element that makes life possible. The roots of hygenic, ritual and religious cults were connected to the formation of ancient settlements.The traditions of centuries created sophisticated cultures, determined in many and various ways by the information, technical and artistic level of the given period - and by natural medicine. On the basis of the work of geologists, chemists, physicists and archeologists, and from the explorations of speleologists, balneologists and medical researchers we have knowledge today of the miracles of not only refreshing, but alsó curing water. Atthe dawn ofthe new age, Paracelsus, that excellent practitioner of medical chemistry, the 'doctor of miracles', a philosopher and medical professor at Basel University, became the pioneer of modern chemistry and he can alsó be called the pioneer of balneo and alternative medicine. Later, Hahn from Silesia and W. Priesnitz investigated the application of water and medicinái water. They were followed by J. Schroth, who alsó applied dietetics as a supplement. Then Rausse, Rikli and Kneipp all reformed balneological healing methods. As a result, light and air baths, steam baths, massage, cold water cures, puritán body training and a healthy way of life pursued regularly became fashionable. Healthy attitudes and methods became increasingly accepted in the customs and philosophy of the middle classes. Later they merged with healing practices. Among them were the following: active movement, drinking cures, vegetarianism, dairy and grape diets, the renaissance of herbalism, and the choice of microclimates and different resorts and spas. As a result, 'recreation' or 'holidaying' became popular for somé social strata. That is how 'medicinái tourism' based on the local medicinái supply became a special field of travel and tourism. As science and technology developed, various instruments and means assisting balneological medicine have gradually Hungary's Spas and Baths