Mineral Springs Spa
Mineral Spas is a type of spa were naturally occurring mineral spring locales which grew a reputation in the nineteenth century on into the late middle-twentith century for healing or healthful benefits to those wealthy enough to partake of their waters. This was called a Mineral cure and gave let to the phrase 'taking a cure', still used as a euphemism, normally though today for one trying to kick a drug dependency.
In many cases, they were situvated in mountainous locales that gave an additional excuse to leave the drudgery of a hot house in warm weather during summer's onset and were seasonally populated by the well-to-do. They finally became early vacation spots with the counter-victorian work ethic 'rationale' of health as an excuse to have fun and mix with one's peers in recreation.
Subsequently, many such became the seed stock for today's modern vacation resorts. Locations such as Steamboat Springs, Vale, St Moritz, Mineral Wells first became popular for the questionable health benefits of mineral or soda-water soaks, ingestion, and clean outs during the hey-day of patent medicines and backward medical knowledge. United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Polio survivor, regularly visited Warm Springs and other Hot Springs for restorative soaks. While his cousin Theodore Roosevelt became known as a manly-man of incredible endurance, he was a sickly child suffering from asthma and 'took cures' periodically in an attempt to gain better health.
Some of the world's great spa cities rose up because of mineral springs, include Baden-Baden in Germany, Spa in Belgium and Bath in England. The U.S. has its share of historic spa cities that sprang up in the 18th and 19th centuries, including Berkeley Springs, Virginia, Calistoga, California and Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Mineral springs spas vary greatly in the degree of luxury and amenities they offer. Some are historic bathhouses where you go to soak for 20 or 30 minutes in a private room that may be very simple. Usually you can get a massage. There might be communal outdoor pools. But some of the world's most lavish hotels and resorts were built on the site of mineral springs.
Mineral springs have naturally occurring minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, manganese, sulphur, iodine, and bromine. The exact makeup of the water vares from spring to spring, and many spas post the exact chemical make-up. Different waters are considered beneficial for different ailments.
