History

The history of medical care in Zlaté Hory dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century. A decisive chapter began in 1879, when the Prague physician Dr Karl Anjel arrived in what was then Cukmantl, having previously worked at the nearby spa on Gräfenberg, today’s Lázně Jeseník. In the beautiful setting at the edge of the mountain forests, he founded a modern hydrotherapy institute, which welcomed its first patients in 1881. In addition to hydrotherapy, massage and electrotherapy were also used. After Karl Anjel’s death, the sanatorium was taken over in 1889 by Dr Ludwig Schweinburg, a Viennese physician and pupil of Professor Wilhelm Winternitz, a leading pioneer of scientific hydrotherapy. Under his leadership, the sanatorium was significantly enlarged and modernised and, at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, became a sought-after treatment facility. The local foothill climate, clean air and location amid forests supported the treatment. The sanatorium’s notable guests included Leoš Janáček and, later, Franz Kafka.

In 1939, the grounds were taken over by the German army and the facility was used to treat soldiers, including those with tuberculosis. After the war, the grounds first came under the administration of the Czechoslovak army and subsequently the Ministry of Health. Around 1950, a state children’s convalescent home was established here, initially intended mainly for children affected by the consequences of war, undernourished children and children with tuberculosis. Care gradually focused increasingly on children with respiratory diseases and allergic conditions.

Following the social changes of the early 1990s, a new stage in the history of this healthcare facility began. In 1993, it obtained the status of a children’s sanatorium for respiratory diseases and specialist therapeutic institution, thereby continuing more than a century of medical-care tradition in Zlaté Hory. Speleotherapy began in 1995 in the unique environment of a former ore mine.

Today’s SANATORIUM EDEL thus continues the tradition of a place where both specialist treatment methods and the exceptional natural conditions of the Zlaté Hory region have been used for treatment for more than 140 years. The former hydrotherapy sanatorium gradually became a specialised healthcare facility focused on treating children with recurrent and chronic respiratory diseases.