History of Wellness in Gastein
Back in the 15th and 16th centuries, Gastein Valley was already becoming a destination for those in search of therapeutic bathing opportunities and recuperation (a precursor to the wellness of today, if you will) and was frequented by many famous guests: these included Emperor Frederick III, Paracelsus, as well as Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Though wellness was already being offered in Gastein Valley, for normal human beings like you and me such things were very remote. The concept had not even been born; the idea that it was just as important to avoid illnesses as cure them simply did not yet exist!
But then, in the 1940s, the Gastein Healing Galleries were basically “discovered” as a form of health facility – by chance, explorers came across the hot steams with elevated radon content which seeped through fissures and heated the rocks to over 40° Celsius. This basically turbo-powered the Gastein Region in the direction of wellness. Unique in its time – a perfect climate in combination with hot springs, which was used either prophylactically or in order to target specific illnesses. Very soon, we were world-famous as a center for healing and therapy.