1541 WÁCSLAW HÁGEK Z LIBOČANY: WHEN MYTH PROVES REALITY
Bílinské springs in the Renaissance Czech Chronicle
"The story of the discovery of the mineral spring is a legend, but it proves one thing: in the 16th century, Bílina was already so famous that it could not be missing from the national epic."
In his monumental work Kronyka Czeská (published in 1541), the famous Renaissance writer and chronicler Wácslaw Hágek of Libočany mentions a colorful legend about the discovery of the Bílina springs. He chronologically placed their discovery deep into the early Middle Ages (to the fictional year 761) and connected it with mythical figures – the squire Kašťál's groom and the legendary Přemyslid princes Nezamysl, Mnata and Vojen. From the point of view of modern historiography, this is typical of Hájek's fabrication and literary fantasy. Nevertheless, this historical record conceals extremely valuable factual evidence.
The fact that Wácslaw Hágek felt the need to include the Bílinské springs in his most important work and to artificially graft an ancient legend onto them clearly proves one thing: in the first half of the 16th century, the Bílinská kyselka spring must have been widely and very well known in the country.
The mystery of bicarbonates: Acid was not for salt miners
Hágek writes in his Czech Chronicle, among other things, that the legendary princes summoned miners from Slané to Bílina to evaporate salt from the water there. However, this is also nonsense from a chemical point of view. In the 16th century, the springs were valued primarily for the possibility of obtaining valuable table salt (sodium chloride). However, Bílinská kyselka is a typical bicarbonate (hydrogen carbonate) spring in its composition. The salt miners of the time were therefore unable to obtain classic salt from it and logically would not have been interested in the spring.
Hágka's story indirectly confirms an amazing fact: The enormous fame of acidulated water in the early modern period did not depend on the common industrial use of salt, but solely on its unmistakable sparkling taste and demonstrable healing power, which the contemporary world simply could not ignore.