A view of us from the outside
Description of Bílina, Teplice and Zaječice in the bible of European spa tourism
James Johnson captured life in Teplice and Bílina in a unique way in his book. And from an extremely interesting perspective for us, that is, an impartial perspective, unfamiliar with our circumstances. This also led to Johnson not understanding some things completely accurately, for example the exact genesis of the idea of "Sedlce powders". However, what we read completely accurately are Johnson's immediate feelings.
A book by physician and globetrotter James Johnson, whose title could be loosely translated as "Wandering through the sacred spa sites", can be described as the bible of this field. It is written in a witty and very readable language, full of sarcasm and English humor, and its popularity is evidenced by its numerous reissues. You can also buy it in a completely new edition.
Johnson's journey from Prague to Teplice, a European spa salon
The frontispiece of Johnson's original book from 1841, published in London.
Johnson does not fit the role of an author of scientific literature here, but describes his travels from the perspective of a visitor. His observations have always been very close to the readers. We were of course interested in the part where he describes his visit to Teplice, Zaječice and Sedlec. Her story begins with the departure from Prague and the description of the loss and finding of a passport, combined with a compliment to the Prague police. Here Johnson states that the local officials are the most civil and polite in Europe. He then describes a journey through the conical hills of the Central Mountains along the Elbe River, where he admires the incredible fertility of the region and the magnificent castles.
After arriving in Teplice, he evaluates the Teplitz-Schönau district as "definitely the most beautiful spa in Europe", which are in full demand from morning to evening by visitors. After describing the effects of the springs, he states that Teplice should have a shop selling discarded or used crutches. In this respect, his assessment of Teplice is truly excellent.
His liaison officer in Teplice is the young spa doctor Theodor L. Richter. From the very beginning of his visit, Johnson is delighted with the women's spa, which he was one of the few men to enter, accompanied by the chief spa doctor, and which he was not allowed to enter anywhere else.
The mysterious yet measurable healing power of Teplice Springs
A period drawing of the Teplice "City Spa"
His next thought is interesting about why spa guests report such a strong positive effect of the springs. At the time of his visit, radioactivity was not yet known, and Johnson distances himself here from an invisible "occult" force that would explain such an effect. And lo and behold, he was wrong, he just didn't have all the knowledge yet.
Johnson would have passed over all considerations about the occult nature of the healing power of the Teplice springs in silence, but he was not given to sleep by clear evidence of the existence of this invisible power: the syndrome of "overbathing - locally überbaden". This manifested itself and still manifests itself today with prolonged and repeated bathing in the Teplice springs. At that time, this problem was solved by a table of the number of permitted baths, after which the treatment course was terminated. But both camps were right. The power does exist, but it was not yet known at that time. It is the secondary radioactivity of radon gas.
In his description of Teplice, Johnson does not find the town itself particularly remarkable. He describes the Long Street (Lange Strasse) full of hotels, but from his point of view none of them are of a top standard. He compares the Clary Castle to a cotton factory in Manchester, which is a humorously true observation. However, he considers the surroundings of Teplice to be top-notch. He writes about the views from the surrounding hills and from Doubravka. He recalls the huge and significant battle of the Allies against Napoleon's army at Chlumec. In his time, it had only been less than thirty years since it had taken place.
He concludes his assessment by stating that Teplice can be considered the most fashionable spa in the Germanic lands. It is said that not a single season passes here without the streets and spa houses being filled with crowned heads and flocks of nobility, looking for ways to get rid of physical ailments.
The following is a quote from the notes that Mr. Špita delivered to Johnson on September 18, 1840, from Dr. Richter. In them, he first mentions that he had completely forgotten to mention the subject of paralysis caused by mechanical injuries, for which one of the most prominent obstetricians in the Germanic lands, Dr. Siebold, strongly recommends Teplice Spa as more effective than any other medicine known at that time.
A map depicting the spa area from Sedlec - Zaječice to Teplice from 1830 testifies to the world fame of this spa location.
He also praises the ongoing railway constructions – he was referring to the Duchcov-Pražská, Teplice-Ústí and especially the Duchcov-Bodenbach (Děčín) railways, with a direct connection to Dresden. He rightly believes that thanks to them the number of visits from London will steadily increase.
The book also describes in a humorous style the expedition to Sedlec – Zaječice. Nothing seems to have changed here and it is clear that it has always suited everyone that the bitter salt zones lie beyond any human attention. Then as now. Everyone was always afraid of possible contamination of the springs. Johnson describes that even in Teplice itself, no one had a precise idea of the location of the name “Sedlitz”, which sounded so famous to him. After a laborious journey to the very place where the bitter salt springs were collected, the astonishment is described here that the original Sedlitz spring has been completely replaced by the Lobkowicz springs of Zaječická (Saidschitzer).
The case of the production of so-called "Sedlice powders" throughout the modern world is described here incorrectly. Although Thomas Savory's recipe did not contain a single molecule of the Sedlec springs, the counterfeit had a completely different chemical composition and only used the phenomenal reputation of the famous "SEDLITZ BITTER WATER". Johnson, however, correctly describes the humorous stories of pharmacy customers who have no idea that Zaječická and Sedlecká water are two names for the same source.