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.

It is not only the sea that provides us with valuable, healing, salty water: brine can be found in the depths of the earth, natural water with high doses of valuable mineral salts such as sodium, magnesium and potassium chloride.

The positive, antibacterial effect of brine has been proven to be particularly effective for skin problems ranging from acne and psoriasis to neurodermatitis, for which it is recognized as a remedy. Baths, compresses and rubs are preferred applications. These are of little use on a one-off basis: an effective cure can take weeks.

Therapy with brine as a local remedy is practised in three places in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: in the state-recognized brine spa Waren an der Müritz, in the seaside spa Heringsdorf on Usedom, in Ostseebad Binz. However, not all brine is the same: the different salt contents of the local brine springs are the reason why the same illnesses are not treated in all places.

Further information about brine and its areas of application or arrangements with the natural remedy brine can be found at Bäderverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The following is a small selection of hotels and spas that offer treatments with brine:

Admittedly: There are more tempting prospects than immersing your whole body in a dark, mushy mud bath, and it does sound a little scary, this moor. But don't worry: if you are recommended a mud bath for osteoarthritis or rheumatism, for example, you won't be treated with a scary bog, but a tub filled with mud and bath peat.

This is the actual natural remedy we're talking about here: peat, centuries-old organic sediment from incompletely decomposed plant remains that is tapped from drained bogs.

Its therapeutic effect is largely due to its ability to store heat and then gradually release it - baths or peat packs can reach temperatures of up to 48 degrees Celsius.

This has both relaxing and stimulating effects on the body: On the one hand, the heat relaxes the joints and muscles during a bath, and on the other, it stimulates the circulation. At the same time, the organic substances in the peat, the humic substances, penetrate the body with the warmth. They are said to help inhibit inflammation, which benefits the musculoskeletal system as well as the liver and kidneys if there are any complaints.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the towns of Bad Sülze and Bad Doberan cultivate the traditional peat therapy with peat from the surrounding moors. The peat is also returned there after use or renaturalized. Peat treatments in the wellness sector or for home use, such as peat cushions or peat available in drugstores, have a beneficial, but not necessarily medical-therapeutic effect.

You can find more information about peat at Bäderverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Here is a small, fine selection of hotels and inns that offer their guests moor treatments: