On the tradition of hydrotherapy in Lviv before 1914

Abstract

It is due to Vincent Priessnitz, Sebastian Kneipp and prof William Winternitz that hydrotherapy enjoyed great popularity in the nineteenth century Europe. New spas and hydrotherapy facilities were created, “frequenting the waters” became a buzzword in ever widening circles of society. This process also took place in Galicia, and the best example was Lviv. This city before World War I was a metropolis with the seat of the National Government of Galicia, a place where different branches of social culture were developed. Much activity was observed in the area of public health, sport and recreation. Hydrotherapy centers, gyms and orthopedic clinics were developing dynamically. This article is the result of exhaustive study of the source materials from the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv, the Department of the Ossolinskis National Institute in Wroclaw, numerous medical journals and newspapers which appeared in the Galicia period. Based on the analysis of all available materials we produced this narrative showing the beginnings of hydrotherapy in Lviv before 1914. The paper pays particular attention to the presentation of pioneering methods of hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, massage and various forms of physiotherapy, which were practiced in Lviv hydrotherapy facilities. The conclusions arising from the analysis of source materials show that hydrotherapy in Lviv, especially in sanatoriums Kisielka and Maryówka, had markings of rehabilitation and their levels did not differ from the then renowned European spas. Activity of the above mentioned institutions was pioneering in the development of physiotherapy, balneology, physical medicine, and in subsequent years was the basis for the establishment of rehabilitation in Poland.