Heal

“Salzdetfurth” becomes “Bad Salzdetfurth”

The salt “underground” determines life “above ground”

Figure 1: The first bathhouse in Salzdetfurth was located on the market next to the “Kronprinz” hotel. During construction work in 2020, the building's foundations were rediscovered. (Coloured photograph around 1900)

Bathing operations began in Salzdetfurth in 1857 with four wooden bathtubs. Visits were initially subdued, but around 1900 the number rose to up to 600 guests. The name “Bad Salzdetfurth” appeared on flags, postcards and printed stationery to advertise this bathing establishment since the 1860s at the latest. The municipal administration refrained from using this name until official confirmation was requested in 1921 on the initiative of the Salzpfännerguild and Kaliwerke Salzdetfurth. They obtained permission from the Reich Transport and Postal Ministry to change the signage of the train station and post office to “Bad Salzdetfurth”. On this basis, on December 22, 1921, the Prussian Ministry of the Interior issued a decree "that the name of the rural community of Salzdetfurth in the Marienburg district will be changed to 'Bad Salzdetfurth'".

A sanatorium for children and young people

A good two decades after the first bathing establishment was founded in Salzdetfurth, the idea arose of using the brine baths and the good climate of the surrounding forests to heal children and young people from poor backgrounds. Rapid industrialization in the 19th century had created overcrowded working-class neighborhoods in the cities: with terrible hygienic conditions, polluted air, bad water and a poor supply of food and medicine. Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has become a widespread disease and affects many children and young people.

In the summer of 1881, donations were used to set up a small, spartan children's and youth spa home for patients to stay for two weeks. The children and young people in the first season were between two and 15 years old. After a promising start, a new health resort was opened in 1884 for young patients, where lung and respiratory diseases were treated.

Figure 2: Drawing of the main building of the children's and youth sanatorium, built between 1882 and 1884. In the first few years, between 200 and 300 children and young people were treated here per year; a spa stay lasted 30 days during this time. Drawing from the magazine of the Architects and Engineers Association of Hanover, volume 34 (1888) plate 5

Figure 3: Dining room in the Sonnenblick building at the children's and youth hospital (photograph from the 1910s)

Everyday life in the Bad Salzdetfurth children's and youth hospital

A day in the sanatorium began with washing, singing, praying and breakfast. The children and young people had the task of taking turns setting the table and carrying the food to the dining rooms. This was followed by treatments with brine baths, sun lamps and red light testingradiation, inhalations and orthopedic gymnastics. For lunch we went back to the dining rooms of the houses. The youngest ones slept afterwards, the older ones played in the yard, hiked in the forest or spent their time in town. In the sanatorium, the young patients made crafts, painted or wrote letters home. There were sandboxes, swings and soccer balls in the yard. The day ended with dinner, washing and a night's rest.

The spa with brine bath

From the beginning of bathing operations in 1857 until the end of the 19th century, Bad Salzdetfurt had inadequate buildings for spa operations and poor transport connections. This only changed when the bathhouse changed ownership in 1896. The new owner invested in the redesign of the bathhouse, the conversion of the Hotel Kronprinz, and in new heating and pumping systems. After that, up to 600 guests visited the spa every year. After another change of ownership, the Kur- und Bade-Betriebsgesellschaft Bad Salzdetfurth m.b.H. was founded in 1925. founded, which included the Salzpfännerguild, the municipality of Bad Salzdetfurth, the Marienburg district and the city of Hildesheim. It had the necessary chapter to put the local spa business on a new footing - among other things, the company had today's spa center built. However, the spa business was marked by ups and downs in the following decades. When the continuation of the spa operating company came into question, a new company was founded in 1974. A diet treatment home (1977), today's brine bath (1979) and two salt clinics (1983 and 1987) were set up. The spa operating company is currently sponsored by the city of Bad Salzdetfurth and the Hildesheim district.

Figure 4: Postcard of the “Moor and brine bath Salzdetfurth” with views of the historic town center, the spa park with the graduation towers, the spa center (moor and brine bath) and the outdoor pool (photography 1980s)