Mineral waters (resorts)

The legislative protection of mineral springs against spoilage and depletion first arose in France , where Henry IV instituted a special inspection on them; then a series of royal ordinances appeared , establishing strict supervision.

In 1856, a law was passed in France (later adopted by the laws of other countries), according to which the government is allowed to declare some particularly important sources of public interest and recognize them as subject to protection. The Protection Regulation prohibits, without permission, any underground work ; the owner of the source has the right, with the permission of the minister, to carry out any kind of work necessary for the conservation, conduct and distribution of the source, within the boundaries of the guard district, on foreign land, with the exception of residential premises and courtyards.

Legislative definitions of medical places in Russia appeared at the beginning of the XVIII century .

Having experienced the healing effects of the waters of the Spa , Peter I decided to proceed with the search and research of the Russian “key waters”.

By decree of July 24, 1717, the Senate was ordered to assist Dr. Schubert in his search for mineral springs. After 3 years, the “healing waters found on the Olonets ” were announced, as well as the “Lipetsk healing waters”, and detailed instructions were issued to guide patients who set sail for the waters.

Marcial Waters , a balneological resort in Karelia was opened on March 20, 1719 by decree of Peter I.

Peter I threatened to prevent the use of water from patients who allow themselves to violate the "rules" that the emperor published, "mercy towards his subjects, like a father." Patients could come to the waters only on the advice of a local doctor. In the Olonets resort, medical care was provided by a specially appointed court doctor. The discovery of other sources that subsequently gained high fame - the Lipetsk, Caucasian and Sergiev sources - dates back to the same time.

Until the 1860s, the best Russian resorts were directly under the treasury; since that time, the government, reducing its industrial enterprises everywhere, sought to lease them or completely ceded them to private individuals and companies.

So, in 1862, the Caucasian waters passed into private custody, and the Directorate of Waters was abolished, and a special military administration was established in its place in the Okrug of sources.

In 1866, the public estate of Druskininkai was sold to a private possession. Since the 1880s, the opposite has been happening: the government again took the resorts to its direct jurisdiction.

In 1883, the lease of Caucasian waters was discontinued and a government official becomes their head. At that time, the most important laws were issued, which placed the same protection over Russian waters as was introduced by French law of 1856.

According to the current legislation, the medical and police and economic management of mineral waters belongs to the medical department of the Ministry of the Interior, and the protection of M. sources, which are recognized as generally useful, is assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property , according to the mining department.

The “public” value of the Highest is recognized at the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture for those sources that:

1) according to the conclusion of the medical council of the Ministry of the Interior, they are of great importance in terms of their composition and healing properties, as well as the devices arranged for them for the use of patients, and

2) at the conclusion of the mining council, the ministries of state property have a continuously-secured flow of water.

In order to protect sources from spoilage or depletion in the area adjacent to the sources, the necessary guard district is established within the boundaries determined by the Minister of Agriculture. Without prior permission of the local mining authorities, it is not allowed to carry out drilling and underground work, as well as work to increase the flow of water in the sources, collect and distribute it, within the protection district.

Those guilty of violating this decree are arrested for a period not exceeding 3 months or a pecuniary punishment of not more than 300 rubles.

If the source, recognized as generally useful, loses its importance for medical purposes, then the Minister of Agriculture seeks the cancellation of the Highest Decree, which declared such a source as generally useful.

The generally useful sources are the Caucasian mineral waters:

• Pyatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Essentuki, Kislovodsk (all 4 groups in the Terek region ),
• Podkumsky or Kumagorsky (in the Stavropol province),
• Psekupsky ( Kuban region ),
• Abas-Tumansky and Borjomi ( Tiflis province );
• Bushes ( Kielce province ),
• Druskenik (Lithuania, formerly Grodno province ),
• Sergievsky ( Samara province ),
• Baladon ( Courland province ),
• Kemmernskie ( Livonia province ),
• Lipetsk ( Tambov province ),
• Ciechocine ( Warsaw province ),
• Old Russian ( Novgorod province ),
• Khilovskys ( Pskov province ),
• Stolypin (Samara province),
• Slavic ( Kharkov province ),
• Kashinsky ( Tver province ) and
• Malkinsky ( Kamchatka ),
• Saki and Chokrak muds ( Tauride province ).

Of these mineral springs, by 1893, Caucasian waters were protected, as well as waters: Bus, Druskenik, Sergiev, Baladon and Lipetsk.

In economic terms, some M. waters are operated by the treasury (Caucasian, Busan, Lipetsk, Old Russian, Kemmern, etc.); others - by individuals and companies on the basis of property rights (Druskenik) or under a lease agreement (Siberian mineral waters); some resorts are run by public institutions (Slavic mineral waters are managed by the city; the Sarept healing well belongs to the colonists).

Treasury M. sources are in the department of the Ministry of the Interior, excluding the Caucasian waters in the Terek region, temporarily transferred in 1884 to the Ministry of Agriculture in the mining department. Some waters belong to the mining department as quitrent items (Anzhi mineral waters in Baku province ).

Recently, 4 groups of Caucasian waters have attracted special attention of the government: Pyatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Essentuki and Kislovodsk; they are given special medical management.

At the head of the waters is a doctor - a government commissioner , who has the right to convene special meetings with the ataman of the Pyatigorsk department, mining engineer, doctors and local homeowners.

Mineral waters under the jurisdiction of the Mining Department gave the treasury gross income in 1893 - 151 thousand rubles, and waters under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior - about 23.5 thousand rubles. CMS earned income in 1892 about 146.5 thousand. rub.

• Wed The Historical Bulletin (1894, 8 books);
• M. Milyutin, “Balneology” (St. Petersburg, 1875);
• reports of the mining department and state control;
• Medical Charter (Volume XIII of the Code of Laws, ed. 1892, Articles 335-363).

• Sulfide (hydrogen sulfide) water. For balneotherapy, hydrogen sulfide water with a concentration of H2S from 10 to 250 mg / l is used.
• Carbonic water. For therapeutic purposes, for external use, carbon dioxide concentrations of 0.75 - 2.0 g / l are used.
• Sodium chloride waters. For therapeutic purposes, water of this class is externally used at concentrations of 10-60 g / l.
• Radon waters . For therapeutic purposes, radon waters with a radon concentration of 5 to 200 nCi / l are used.
• Iodine-bromide waters. Most often, iodine (5 mg / l) and bromine (25 mg / l) are present in sodium chloride waters. ^[one]

Depending on the prevalence of iodides or bromides, these waters can be iodine-bromide, bromine-iodide, bromide or iodide. In the literature on balneology, the terms bromine, iodine, iodine-bromine and bromine-iodine waters are more often used. We consider the use of these terms erroneous.

As mentioned above, a real breakthrough in the study of mineral waters began after revolutionary discoveries in chemistry, which are mainly associated with the name of A. Lavoisier .

Bromine was discovered in 1825 by the French chemist A.J. Balar while studying brines of the Mediterranean salt industry; named from the Greek. bromos is offensive. When dissolved in water, bromine partially reacts with it to form hydrobromic acid and unstable bromic acid. An unpleasant odor solution of bromine in water is called bromine water. In nature, bromine is present mainly in the form of ions that travel with groundwater.

The bromide salts of sodium, potassium, magnesium are found in deposits of chloride salts, in potassium salts - sylvin and carnallite.

Iodine, halogen as well as bromine, is poorly soluble in water, but it is well soluble in saline solutions with the formation of iodides. Due to its good solubility in water, bromide and iodide salts accumulate in sea water, brine of salt lakes and underground brines.

Siliceous thermal waters are usually low mineralized, alkaline ones contain silicic acid of 50 mg / l. A characteristic feature of these waters is the presence of gases, mainly nitrogen.

Arsenic waters vary greatly in their chemical and gas composition. The most famous waters of this group are carbonic arsenic waters of the Chvizheps and Sochi deposits.

Resorts are especially famous in Western Europe:

• Bad Fischau-Brunn (Austria)
• Borjomi (Georgia)
• Radenzi (Slovenia)
• St. Moritz (Switzerland)
• Spa (Belgium)

Bulgaria

• Bankya
• Bathhouse
• Dobrinishte
• Hisarya
• Kyustendil
• Narechensky Bani
• Pavel Banya
• Sandanski
• Sapareva Banya
• Varshets
• Velingrad

UK

• Askern
• Bat
• Boston Spa
• Buxton
• Woodhol Spa
• Ilkley
• Malvern
• Matlock
• Royal Leamington Spa
• Royal tunbridge wells
• Scarborough
• Tenbury wells
• Harrogate
• Church Stretton
• Cheltenham
• Shap
• Shersby
• Epsom

Hungary

• Budapest
• Heviz

Germany

• Baden-Baden ( Baden-Wurttemberg state)
• Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler ( Rhineland-Palatinate )
• Wiesbaden (state of Hesse )

Poland

• Krynica-Zdroj
• Nalenczow

Romania

• Beile Govor
• Beile Herculane
• Baile Tushnad
• Beile Felix
• Vatra Dornei

Serbia

• Bukovichka Banya
• Vrnyachka-Banya

Slovakia

• Koritnitsa font
• Piestany
• Trencianske Teplice

Czech Republic

• Karlovy Vary
• Luhačovice
• Marianske Lazne

France

• Aix-les-Bains
• Dax
• Evian-les-Bains
• Tercis-les-Bains
• Vichy

M. sources in Russia, there are over 300, but most of them, without any convenience for proper use, are known only among the local population.

Sources are concentrated mainly in two centers: in the Caucasus and in the Transbaikal region.

The Olonets and Lipetsk mineral waters attracted the attention of the Tsar and the government 300 years ago. The Caucasian waters attracted the attention of the government in the last century; the study of Siberian waters was only recently begun.

Russian waters attract little of our patients, who prefer to go abroad, finding there the best beautification in medical terms and the great cheapness of life.

In addition to the above-mentioned so-called generally useful sources, waters are known in Russia:

• Lipetsk (Tambov province),
• andreyapolsky (Tver province),
• Arasan ( Semirechensk region ),
• Berezovsky (near Kharkov ),
• Birshtansky (Lithuania, formerly Vilna province ),
• Varziatch ( Vyatka province ),
• hot water (near Pyatigorsk),
• Gusikhinsky ( Trans-Baikal region ),
• Issygatinsky (Semirechensk region),
• Kuyalnitsky waters and mud ( Odessa region ),
• Kayakent (Dagestan region),
• Makaveevskie (Transbaikal region),
• Nalenczowski ( Lublin province ),
• Sarept ( Saratov province ),
• Slavic (Lublin province),
• Maynak and Tinak muds (Tauride province),
• Turkin waters (near Baikal),
• Shepetovskie (near the Shepetivka station of the Kiev-Brest railway),
• Shmakovsky (Primorsky Territory) and
• Uravel (Tiflis province).

All significant mineral springs and their resorts are described in separate articles.

• Thalassotherapy
• Mineral water (food)
• Caucasian mineral waters

• Mineral waters // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.