Graduation tower
Encyclopedia
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
which removes water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
from a saline solution by evaporation
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wooden wall-like frame stuffed with bundles of brushwood (typically blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
) which have to be changed about every 5 to 10 years as they become encrusted with mineral deposits over time. The salt water runs down the tower and partly evaporates; at the same time some minerals from the solution are left behind on the brushwood twigs.
Graduation towers can be found in a number of spa towns, primarily in Germany but also Poland and Austria. The mineral-rich water droplets in the air are regarded as having beneficial health effects similar to that of breathing in sea air
Sea air
The air at or by the sea is traditionally thought to be healthy. This was variously attributed to iodine or ozone but its cleanliness or salt may be more significant....
.
A large complex of graduation towers is located in Ciechocinek
Ciechocinek
Ciechocinek is a spa town in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the Vistula River about east of Aleksandrów Kujawski and south-east of the city of Toruń.Ciechocinek is known for its unique 'saline graduation towers'....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. This entirely wooden construction was erected in the 19th century by Stanislaw Staszic
Stanislaw Staszic
Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic was a Polish priest, philosopher, statesman, geologist, scholar, poet and writer, a leader of the Polish Enlightenment, famous for works related to the "Great" or "Four-Year Sejm" and its Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:Staszic was born into a burgher family in the...
. The complex consists of three graduation towers with a total length of over 2 km. Many tourists visit it for health reasons.
Partial list of towns and cities with graduation towers
With years of initial construction where available. Does not include modern indoor facilities found in some spas.Germany
- Bad DürkheimBad DürkheimBad Dürkheim is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
(1736) - Bad DürrenbergBad DürrenbergBad Dürrenberg is a town in the Saalekreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 8 km southeast of Merseburg....
- Bad EssenBad EssenBad Essen is a small municipality and health resort in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony. Bad Essen with its historical centre is located on the German Framework Road.-Geography:...
- Bad KarlshafenBad KarlshafenBad Karlshafen is a baroque, thermal salt spa town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It has 2300 inhabitants in the main ward of Bad Karlshafen, and a further 1900 in the medieval ward of Helmarshausen...
(1986) - Bad KreuznachBad KreuznachBad Kreuznach is the capital of the district of Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine...
(1732) - Bad KösenBad Kösen' is a spa town in Germany, on the Saale river in the small German wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut. It is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt...
- Bad NauheimBad NauheimBad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...
- Bad OeynhausenBad OeynhausenBad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
- Bad OrbBad OrbBad Orb is a spa town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 32 east km of Hanau. Bad Orb is between forested hills in the Nature Park Spessart, one of the largest forested areas in Germany. The canyon-side donkey path that runs to Großheubach in Miltenberg Kreis passes Bad...
(1806) - Bad RappenauBad RappenauBad Rappenau is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated about 15 km northwest of Heilbronn.- Neighbouring municipalities :...
(2008) - Bad ReichenhallBad ReichenhallBad Reichenhall is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps ....
(1911) - Bad RothenfeldeBad RothenfeldeBad Rothenfelde is a municipality and health resort in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teutoburg Forest, approx. 20 km southeast of Osnabrück, between Hilter and Dissen. Bad Rothenfelde has a spa, hospital, clothes shops and many cafés....
(1777) - Bad Salzelmen (part of SchönebeckSchönebeckSchönebeck is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. 14 km southeast of Magdeburg.-International relations:Schönebeck is twinned with:...
, 1756) - Bad Salzhausen (around 1600)
- Bad SalzuflenBad SalzuflenBad Salzuflen is a town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. At the end of 2006 it had 54415 inhabitants.-Details:Bad Salzuflen is a spa town and is known for its saltwater springs and thermal baths. In former times the town profited from the salt trade...
(18th century) - Bad SalzungenBad SalzungenBad Salzungen is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wartburgkreis district. It is situated on the river Werra, 5 km east of Tiefenort and 20 km south of Eisenach. Near the town, there's a Bundeswehr barrack, the Werratal-Kaserne, which was built in 1972 for the GDR Army....
- Bad SassendorfBad SassendorfBad Sassendorf is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-History:From February 15th, 1944 to April 4th or 5th 1945 inmates of the Neuengamme concentration camp used as the Eisenbahnbaubrigade 11 repaired rail tracks at the railway station Soest and between Bad...
- Bad Soden (part of Bad Soden-SalmünsterBad Soden-SalmünsterBad Soden-Salmünster is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the river Kinzig, between Fulda and Hanau.-References:...
, 2006) - Bad Sooden-AllendorfBad Sooden-Allendorf-Location:The spa town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf lies in the Werra valley near the Hoher Meißner, right on the boundary with Thuringia, almost at Germany’s geographical centre, 33 km east of Kassel.-Neighbouring communities:...
- Eibach (part of DillenburgDillenburgDillenburg is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis....
, 2004) - HammHammHamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
(2008) - LüneburgLüneburgLüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
- Salzgitter-BadSalzgitter-BadWith a population of about 20,000, Salzgitter-Bad is the second biggest quarter of the German city Salzgitter in Lower Saxony. Salzgitter's name derives from it; the quarter is regarded as the historical and cultural centre of Salzgitter.-History:...
(2009) - SalzkottenSalzkottenSalzkotten is a town in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name Salzkotten is based on the former salt production, which gave Salzkotten its raison d'être...
Poland
- CiechocinekCiechocinekCiechocinek is a spa town in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, located on the Vistula River about east of Aleksandrów Kujawski and south-east of the city of Toruń.Ciechocinek is known for its unique 'saline graduation towers'....
(19th century) - GrudziądzGrudziadzGrudziądz is a city in northern Poland on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants . Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship .- History :-Early history:...
- Inowrocław
- Konstancin-JeziornaKonstancin-JeziornaKonstancin-Jeziorna is a town in Piaseczno County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 16,963 inhabitants . It is located about 20 km south of downtown Warsaw and is a part of the metropolitan area of that city....