Josef Wilhelm Freiherr von Löschner (; 7 May 1809 – 19 April 1888) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

physician.

Biography

Josef von Löschner was born on 7 May 1809 in

Kadaň Kadaň (; ) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the Ohře river. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Franciscan Monastery in ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. He studied at

Gymnasium Kadaň Gymnasium Kadaň () is a Czech regional Gymnasium (school), gymnasium in the Ústí nad Labem Region of Kadaň. It is the oldest school in Kadaň and fifth oldest in Ústí nad Labem Region. The school was established in 1803 with 99 students and ...

. In 1834 he received his medical doctorate at

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, and several years later he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

for

balneology Balneotherapy ( "bath") is a method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. Since ancient times, humans have used hot springs, public baths and thermal medicine for therapeutic effects. While ...

(1841). Later on, he became a professor at the University of Prague, where in 1862–1863 he served as university rector. In 1862 he was appointed ''Landesmedizinalrat'', and in 1865 became ''Hofrat'' (councilor) and a personal physician to

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. A foundation arranged by Löschner resulted in the creation of the Franz Joseph Kinderhospital in Prague. Löschner is remembered for his work in the field of

. He advocated the curative properties of health spas, and wrote numerous articles promoting the

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

s of

. These publications were instrumental in making Bohemian spas a popular tourist destination, particularly the resorts at

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

and

Bílina Bílina (; ) is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is known for its destination spa, spas and as a source of the strongly mineralized water, Bílinská kyselka. The ...

, which were regularly visited by members of European royalty.

Written works

* ''Der Gießhübler Sauerbrunn'', 1846 – Kyselka. * ''Die Versendung der Karlsbader Mineralquellen'', 1847 – The dispatch of the Karlovy Vary mineral springs. * ''Das Saidschitzer Bitterwasser'', 1853 – Bitter waters of Zaječice. * ''Der Sauerbrunnen zu Bilin'', 1859 – Bílinská kyselka healing mineral water

. * ''Johannisbad im böhmischen Riesengebirge'', 1859 – Janské Lázně in the

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

. * ''Beiträge zu Balneologie aus den Kurorten Böhmens'', 1862 – Contributions to balneology from the health resorts in Bohemia. * ''Balneologische Skizze von Tetschen-Bodenbach'', 1862 – Balneological sketch of

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

. * ''Die Eisenwässer von Königswart'', 1865 – The ice-cold waters of Lázně Kynžvart). * ''Teplitz und die benachbarten Kurorte'', 1867 –

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

and neighbouring health resorts.

References

* This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

, references listed as: ** Austrian Biographical Encyclopaedia 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5 Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1972, pp
279
an
280
1809 births 1888 deaths Physicians from the Austrian Empire Balneotherapy Academic staff of Charles University Charles University alumni Habsburg Bohemian nobility Austrian barons German Bohemian people Physicians from Austria-Hungary People from Kadaň Physicians from Prague {{Austria-med-bio-stub