Natural Remedies and Therapies

The clean sea water, the fresh breeze and the high sunshine duration have an extraordinarily vitalizing effect. One should also not forget the oxygen-rich air of the coastal forests. Since the sea and the sand reflect and amplify the light, those seeking recreation will have a great time here, even on cooler days.

Natural wellness programme

First and foremost - the Rügen healing chalk. Rediscovered in the recent past as a gentle natural remedy, vacationers enjoy it primarily in the form of warm baths. Water, of course, remains the number one feel-good ingredient. In addition to the Kneipp methods, Thalasso treatments are enjoying increasing demand. In addition to vitamin-rich algae and clean seawater, this also requires the sea climate with its fine aerosols. Even the moor surprises with extraordinary finds. The peat extracted near Bad Sülze has a high salt concentration. The moor of Bad Doberan is particularly rich in iron. The warm iodine brine that bubbles up from the ground in Heringsdorf, Waren (Müritz) and Binz is considered a panacea and fountain of youth, as is the local seaweed and sea buckthorn.

If you talk about wellness in Germany you also must talk about the healing chalk, which has its home on the island of Rügen. Famously appearing in the pictures of Caspar David Friedrich's romantic view of the impressive chalk cliffs, it has made a name for itself as a natural remedy because its components have a variety of health-promoting effects.

Often used for neurodermatitis, the anti-inflammatory healing chalk stimulates the energy metabolism of the cells, which promotes their vitality as well as wound healing. Chalk baths and masks support the skin in its natural protective and excretory functions. In addition, healing chalk maintains its temperature rather well. Similar to mud, it is therefore used for heat applications to relax muscles and to stimulate blood circulation, metabolism and circulation.

In many wellness hotels and health facilities on the island of Rügen, you can be pampered with the original Rügen Dreikronen healing chalk and experience this gift of nature up close. The seal "Anerkannter Qualitätsbetrieb" of the Rügener Heilkreide e.V. association guarantees quality.

Further information is available from the Rügen Tourist Office and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baths Association.

Thalassotherapy consists of not only sea water with its healthy minerals and trace elements, but also seaweed, mud, sea air, sun and sand. Typical thalassotherapy treatments include baths, wraps, massages, inhalations, water gymnastics and hydrotherapy, as well as climatic hikes in the surf zone. This can have a soothing and healing effect on rheumatism, neurodermatitis, back pain and circulatory disorders.

Genuine, effective thalassotherapy must really take place directly by the sea and must be based on a well thought-out concept accompanied by trained staff. Only then the thalasso is considered a so-called "local remedy" and is recognised in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern by the insurance cost bearers.

Similar to the salty sea water and sea air, brine - by inhalation or as a rinse - also has a healing effect on the respiratory tract because it moistens the mucous membranes, relieves coughs and inhibits inflammation. Allergy sufferers, asthmatics and people with bronchitis are the main target group here.

Therapy with brine as a local remedy is practiced in three places in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: in the state-recognised brine spa Waren an der Müritz, in the seaside spa Heringsdorf on Usedom and in the Baltic Sea resort Binz. However, not all brine has the same characteristics. The different salt contents of the local brine springs are the reason why not all places treat the same diseases.

More information about brine and its areas of application or arrangements with the natural healing agent brine can be found at the spa association Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Below is a small selection of hotels and houses that offer treatments with brine:

Admittedly, there are more tempting prospects than plunging your whole body into a dark, mushy mud bath, and it does sound a bit creepy. But don't worry; if a mud bath is recommended to you for arthritis or rheumatism, for example, it will not be a creepy mud pit that awaits you, but a tub filled with mud and bath peat instead.

That's the real natural remedy in question here: peat, centuries-old organic sediment made from incompletely decomposed plant remains tapped from drained bogs.

Its therapeutic effect is based to a significant extent on its ability to store heat and then gradually release it - baths or even mud packs can thus get as warm as 48 degrees Celsius. This has both relaxing and stimulating effects on the body.

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the towns of Bad Sülze and Bad Doberan maintain the traditional peat therapy with peat from the surrounding moors. This is also where the peat is returned after use or where it is renaturalised. For more information about Moor, visit the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baths Association.