The secret of the deep

“Learned to swim in mineral water as a child”

It was mainly Burgenlanders and Viennese who indulged in vacation pleasures at the mineral water beach.

(Bild: Grammer Karl/Karl Grammer)

What refreshing times were those? In the past, those seeking relaxation had the tingling pleasure of bathing in a lake of refreshing Roman spring water in Edelstal - a blessing with magical elemental healing powers.

If you rummage through historical records, you will come across the unexpected. Whether summer or winter - for many thousands of years, the water from the "Bründl", half a kilometer south of a village at the tip of northern Burgenland, bubbled constantly. A small lake of precious water poured out of the depths and lay fallow - the technology was not yet fully developed, and processing it into valuable drinking water was still in its infancy. So people just went swimming.