The ''peat therapy resort'' Moorbad Gmös in the vicinity of the town of Laakirchen (situated on the edge of the Salzkammergut) is one of the few

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s in the

Alpine foothills The Alpine foothills, or Prealps (german: Voralpen; french: Préalpes; it, Prealpi; ), may refer generally to any foothills at the base of the Alps in Europe. They are the transition zone between the High Alps and the Swiss Plateau and the Bavar ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

. The bog dates back to the Mindel glaciation and was created by a " dead-ice hole". In 1987 the local authorities of Upper Austria declared the area of 3.4 ha of the Gmöser Moor a

natural preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. A path around the area has since then given the visitor the opportunity of observing rare flora and fauna. In 2002 the spa was chosen as background scenery for the TV-production ''

Schlosshotel Orth ''Schlosshotel Orth '' is an Austrian television series. See also * List of Austrian television series External links * Austrian television series 1990s Austrian television series 2000s Austrian television series 1996 Austrian televi ...

''.

About the area

The habitat was formed on a

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

of the Mindel glaciation and forms one of the few bogs in the Alpine foothills on the east side of the

Traun River Traun () is a river in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Its source is in the Totes Gebirge mountain range in Styria. It flows through the Salzkammergut area and the lakes Hallstätter See and Traunsee. The Traun is a right tributary of the Da ...

. Up to the time that humans began to interfere with nature, a

landscape with its variety of flora and fauna was able to develop. Due to cultivation of the bog landscape by man (drainage, peat-working, litter-harvesting etc.) the 3.4 ha Gmöser Moor can today be designated as a carr or

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

which the original forms of flora and fauna have survived. This was the reason that the Gmöser Moor was declared to be a natural preserve in 1987.

Fauna

Due to the number of animals – of which some are severely endangered and all under protection – the Gmöser Moor represents a unique refuge and environment in form of a

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...

for the region. For example, there are

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

such as

yellow-bellied toad The yellow-bellied toad (''Bombina variegata'') belongs to the order Anura, the family Bombinatoridae, and the genus of fire-bellied toads. The toad is distributed mainly across western Europe as well as a handful of countries in eastern Europ ...

s (''Bombina variegata'') – decidedly water inhabitants – and

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

such as the grass snake (''Natrix natrix'') which live in damp forests, fens and bogs. A great number of bird species find the best conditions for breeding and have been observed for a number of years. The

fieldfare The fieldfare (''Turdus pilaris'') is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It ...

(''Turdus pilaris'') is to be found her with the only breeding colony of the whole area. The

marsh warbler The marsh warbler (''Acrocephalus palustris'') is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and the western Palearctic and winters mainly in southeast Africa. It is notable for incorpora ...

(''Acrocephalus palustris'') is not solely bound to reed landscapes, but is mainly to be found in bushy areas. It is a summer guest for us and spends the winter in Africa. The

whinchat The whinchat (''Saxicola rubetra'') is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycat ...

(''Saxicola rubetra'') can be found in the surrounding meadows, as it is a typical meadow bird, which breeds on the ground. In the surroundings of the Gmöser Moor this bird could only be observed one or two times when breeding. The whinchat is also a summer guest in Austria and spends the winter in Africa The

Eurasian nuthatch The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (''Sitta europaea'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Europe. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-gray upperparts and a black eye-stripe. ...

(''Sitta europaea'') remains with us all year round. It breeds in caves and draws the observer's attention to itself by being able to crawl headfirst down trees. The golden oriole (''Oriolus oriolus'') only visits as a summer guest at the end of April on its return journey from Africa. It only breeds irregularly in Gmös, whereby its nest is strictly obscured high up in the trees. The male bird can be easily recognized by its bright yellow and black feathers. The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') can be observed over all open areas with flat wings spread and then pouncing down with closed wings on its prey of mice or other small mammals. Other observed bird species:

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

(''Anas platyrhynchos''), grey partridge (''Perdix perdix''), pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus''), quail (''Coturnix coturnix''), moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), wood pigeon (''Columba palumbus''),

great spotted woodpecker The great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major'') is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found acros ...

(''Dendrocopos major''), skylark (''Alauda arvensis''),

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...

(''Troglodytes troglodytes''),

robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

(''Erithacus rubecula''),

black redstart The black redstart (''Phoenicurus ochruros'') is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscic ...

(''Phoenicurus ochruros''), blackbird (''Turdus merula''),

song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...

(''Turdus philomelos''), garden warbler (''Sylvia borin''), blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''),

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly ...

(''Phylloscopus trochilus''), chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), goldcrest (''Regulus regulus''),

common firecrest The common firecrest (''Regulus ignicapilla''), also known as the firecrest, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. It breeds in most of temperate Europe and northwestern Africa, and is partially migratory, with birds from central ...

(''Regulus ignicapillus''), spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata''), marsh tit (''Poecile palustris''), blue tit (Parus caeruleus), great tit (''Parus major''),

coal tit The coal tit or cole tit, (''Periparus ater''), is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder in forests throughout the temperate to subtropical Palearctic, including North Africa. The bla ...

(''Periparus ater''),

short-toed treecreeper The short-toed treecreeper (''Certhia brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecr ...

(''Certhia brachydactyla''), starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''),

Eurasian jay The Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius'') is a species of passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The ...

(''Garrulus glandarius''),

European magpie The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (''Pica pica'') is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Palearctic, Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the Corvidae, crow family (corvids) designated magpies, and belong ...

(''Pica pica''), carrion crow (''Corvus corone''),

tree sparrow The Eurasian tree sparrow (''Passer montanus'') is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version o ...

(''Passer montanus''),

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...

(''Passer domesticus''), common chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs''),

greenfinch The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus ''Chloris'' in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa. These finc ...

(''Carduelis chloris''), goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis''), yellowhammer (''Emberiza citrinella'') und

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...

(''Emberiza schoeniclus'').

Migrants, former breeding birds and guests

Grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

(''Ardea cinerea''),

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

(''Ciconia ciconia''), garganey (''Anas querquedula''),

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

(''Aythya fuligula''), red kite (''Milvus milvus''),

hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

(''Circus cyaneus''),

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...

(''Accipiter nisus''), goshawk (''Accipiter gentilis''),

European honey buzzard The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Etymology Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera '' Leptodon'' a ...

(''Pernis apivorus''), buzzard (''Buteo buteo''), hobby (''Falco subbuteo''), lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), curlew (''Numenius arquata''), green sandpiper (''Tringa ochropus''), Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola''), common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago''),

collared dove ''Streptopelia'' is a genus of birds in the pigeon and dove family Columbidae. These are mainly slim, small to medium-sized species. The upperparts tend to be pale brown and the underparts are often a shade of pink. Many have a characteristic bla ...

(''Streptopelia decaocto''),

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

(''Cuculus canorus''), long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), tawny owl (''Strix aluco''),

common swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between th ...

(''Apus apus''), hoopoe (''Upupa epops''),

grey-headed woodpecker The grey-headed woodpecker (''Picus canus''), also known as the grey-faced woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the woodpecker family, Picidae. Along with the more commonly found European green woodpecker and the Iberian green woodpecker, it is o ...

(''Picus canus''),

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...

(''Picus viridis''), barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica''),

house martin ''Delichon'' is a small genus of passerine birds that belongs to the swallow family and contains four species called house martins. These are chunky, bull-headed and short-tailed birds, blackish-blue above with a contrasting white rump, and w ...

(''Delichon urbica''), tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis''), dunnock (''Prunella modularis''),

redstart {{Hatnote, For the ship, see USS Redstart (AM-378) Redstart is a name used for a number of songbirds that are not closely related to each other: Old world flycatcher family (Muscicapidae) * '' Phoenicurus'', 14 species found in Africa, Asia and E ...

(''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''),

wheatear The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus ''Oenanthe''. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family, Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This is an Old World group, bu ...

(''Oenanthe oenanthe''), redwing (''Turdus iliacus''),

mistle thrush The mistle thrush (''Turdus viscivorus'') is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in a large part of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often ...

(''Turdus viscivorus''), sedge warbler (''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus''),

aquatic warbler The aquatic warbler (''Acrocephalus paludicola'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 11,000-15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in ...

(''Acrocephalus paludicola''),

reed warbler The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler famil ...

(''Acrocephalus scirpaceus''),

icterine warbler The icterine warbler (''Hippolais icterina'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus ''Hippolais''. It breeds in mainland Europe except the southwest, where it is replaced by its western counterpart, the melodious warbler. It is migr ...

(''Hippolais icterina''),

lesser whitethroat The lesser whitethroat (''Curruca curruca'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, winteri ...

(''Sylvia curruca''), whitethroat (''Sylvia communis''), wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix''), pied flycatcher (''Ficedula hypoleuca''),

collared flycatcher The collared flycatcher (''Ficedula albicollis'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in southeast Europe (isolated populations are pr ...

(''Ficedula albicollis''), crested tit (''Lophophanes cristatus''), long-tailed tit (''Aegithalos caudatus''), red-backed shrike (''Lanius collurio''), jackdaw (''Corvus monedula''),

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least e ...

(''Corvus corax''),

brambling The brambling (''Fringilla montifringilla'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It has also been called the cock o' the north and the mountain finch. It is widespread and migratory, often seen in very large flocks. Ta ...

(''Fringilla montifringilla''),

hawfinch The hawfinch (''Coccothraustes coccothraustes'') is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Coccothraustes''. Its closest living relatives are the Chinese grosbeak (''Eophona migratoria'') ...

(''Coccothraustes coccothraustes''),

serin ''Serinus'' is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage. The genus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch. Its name is New L ...

(''Serinus serinus''), siskin (''Carduelis spinus''),

bullfinch Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus ''Pyrrhula''. These birds are restricted to the Old World, an ...

(''Pyrrhula pyrrhula''), linnet (''Carduelis cannabina''),

common rosefinch The common rosefinch (''Carpodacus erythrinus'') or scarlet rosefinch is the most widespread and common rosefinch of Asia and Europe. Taxonomy In a molecular phylogenetic study of the finch family published in 2012, Zuccon and colleagues found t ...

(''Carpodacus erythrinus'') and

common crossbill The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...

(''Loxia curvirostra''). The manifold biotope structures and the special climate features which are prevalent in a bog landscape result in an extremely diverse insect world, which serves as a food source for the birds of the area. In the area where

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

is dug, one can observe the most different sorts of dragonflies and a great number of mosquitos (''Culicidadae'').

Flora

The vegetation of the bog landscape is dominated mainly by carr forests dominated by bog birch trees. Here one can observe the remnants of a great number of plants which are typical of bogland areas. Among these are the downy birch (''

Betula pubescens ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

''), European heather (''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wid ...

''), milk parsley (''

Peucedanum palustre ''Peucedanum palustre'' (milk-parsley) is an almost glabrous biennial plant in the family Apiaceae. It is so called in English because of the thin, foetid, milky latex found in its young parts and is native to most of Europe, extending eastwards ...

''), blanket mire (''

Eriophorum vaginatum ''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog ha ...

'') and common sedge (''

Carex nigra ''Carex nigra'' is a perennial species of plants in the family Cyperaceae native to wetlands of Europe, western Asia, northwestern Africa, and eastern North America. Common names include common sedge, black sedge or smooth black sedge. The easte ...

''). Peat diggings can be found both in the centre and on the edges of the bog. The older sites are covered with marsh moss, whereas others can be identified by their duckweed, marsh cinquefoil and sparganium growth.

Peat moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

(''Sphagnum'' sp.) is an excellent water store. They die off at the point where they stand in water and continue growing above this point. The underlying dead particles are continually compressed downwards by the new growth from above. Thus, over a period of several ten thousands of centuries, provided that the climate and environmental conditions are in order, smaller or larger layers of peat are created. The peat layer in Gmös is, however, not exceptionally thick, as the peat mosses could not compete with the pressure applied and could therefore not turn into an ombrotrophic bog. On the pond within the bog landscape a widespread reed-cultivation has developed.

The peat pulp resort

History of the spa in Gmös

Around 1900 Johann Vizithum – a farmer in the neighbouring village of Rahstorf – used to dig

in order to obtain fuel to run his

threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that threshes grain, that is, it removes the seeds from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed, threshi ...

. He had suffered over years from severe

Arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

and realised, that whenever he trod barefoot in the

, he experienced a definite improvement of his ailments. This was the reason that the Moorbad Gmös was founded in 1907. Since that time

has been manually dug and prepared on a daily basis. Following the applications the peat is returned to the bog.

Centennial

100 years ago – in time of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, when the emperor of Austria had spent his summer holidays at the spas of

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

, Františkovy Lázně and

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; german: Marienbad) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th centu ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

– even a small Upper-Austrian village got its first peat therapy spa. 1907 the first owner named the spa after his wife Cäcilia and people from all over the country came not only because of the established guest house but also because of the new bath house.
''Cäcilienbad'' has been renamed into Moorbad Gmös, the infrastructure has been adapted to the contemporary requirements and even the methods of treatment have been improved and expanded in order to guarantee the patient's recovery. On 11 August an event of the Gmundner Festival is guest in Gmös for the first time. Peter Raab reads

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civilizati ...

's "Wut und Komik" in a matinee.

The cure in the bath house

The traditional "

cure A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...

" in Gmös is a combination of mud baths, peat-packs and massages.

Massages

Individually specified massages are essential for improving the muscular function and serve to improve all the muscular movements apparatus. Foot- and ear-reflex zone massage and special forms of traditional massage are used as supportive measures. Thus any tension and over acidification of the muscles, which often lead to pain and loss of mobility, can be treated.

The mud bath

The mud bath is prepared directly from peat taken from the bog together with bog water which is rich in content. In order to increase the typical thermal factor the water is mixed with peat.

Peat-packs

The parts if the body to be treated are covered with permeable fleece packs containing peat. According to requirement either the whole or parts of the body are then wrapped and subjected to a 50-minute cleansing procedure.

Indications

The cure is said to help with

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

, lumbago, sciatica,

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

, all wear symptoms of the joints and the

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Vertebral column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoolog ...

, chronic arthritis, the symptoms following broken bones and all over-tension of the

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

Guest house

The guest house is in the direct vicinity of the bath-house, in order to offer those guests who do not live near the possibility of being treated. Both the guest house and the spa are family businesses, which with their maximum capacity of 16 guests, offer everybody individual treatment.

Chapel Gmös

The building of the Chapel Gmös began in 1982. After a construction period of 3 months the

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

ceremony could be carried out in the form of

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

conducted by the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

– Mr. Siebenhütter – of the monastery in Lambach.

References

External links

The municipality's Information about the preserve
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