Iwonicz-Zdroj
Iwonicz-Zdroj is a city that is part of the administrative county of Krosno in the Subcarpathian Province. It is a piedmont characterised spa resort that is located in the valley of the Iwonicki Stream and surrounded by the slopes of the Lower Beskidy Mountain Range at an altitude of 410m above sea level. The mildly stimulating local microclimate is derived mainly from the large dense forests, made up predominately of fir and beech, as well as the shielding effect of the surrounding slopes. A predominant number of sunny days also have a calming influence on the characteristics of this mountainous climate. It is the climatic conditions found here as well as the mineral waters and the therapeutic mud which are the basic elements that are used in the majority of healing treatments.
Iwonicz-Zdroj is the largest and oldest health resort in this region and has attracted attention not only from Polish patients but also from those throughout Europe. The healing properties of the waters found here were written about as early as 1413 but the first study of its properties was carried out in 1578 by Wojciech Oczko, the court physician of King Stefan Batory. References to the healing properties, partly supported by the medical knowledge of the day, began appearing in later centuries. In the 17th century the spa facility enjoyed great popularity both at home and abroad. The therapeutic and distinctive qualities of the resort were written about in Europe at that time and the mineral waters were attributed with miraculous properties.
In the 18th century, as a result of the general economic collapse of the country there was a decrease in the interest in the old spa resort and Iwonicz-Zdroj fell into total disrepair. The dynamic growth of Iwonicz that occurred in the 19th century can be attributed mainly to the owners of the town, the Dukes of the Zaluski family. They built the first bathing and accommodation facilities in a beautiful park and gave it the appearance of a European resort similar to those found in Austria, Prussia or Switzerland. These structures have remained in part to this day, ideally embedded into the landscape and delighting with their architecture. This unique and charming atmosphere is still present in the ubiquitous Iwonicz-Zdroj.
Between the wars Iwonicz became very popular amongst mineral water drinkers and remains so to this day. After World War II the resort resumed its operations with the rebuilding of any damaged buildings and furnishing them with modern equipment. Particular attention was paid to the conservation of the breathtakingly beautiful architecture of the Old Palace, the Old Baths, the Mineral Water Pump and Tap Room and the „White Eagle” Sanatorium as well as other buildings within the spa town. The most modern Centre for Natural Medicine in Poland was opened her in the early 1980’s.
All available types of spa treatments are carried out by competent professional staff in modern facilities. Iwonicz-Zdroj specialises in treatments that include diseases of the digestive, nervous and the respiratory systems, traumatic orthopaedic diseases, rheumatologic and degenerative complaints, osteoporosis, obesity, psoriasis and specific women’s ailments.
Today, Iwonicz-Zdroj is a thriving and still growing therapeutic and recreational centre which thanks to limited and monitored expansion has not lost any of its atmosphere and charm. Currently more than 50,000 people come for treatments and relaxation to the resort each year.
