A graduation tower (occasionally referred to as a thorn house [1] ) is a structure, used in the production of salt, that removes water from a saline solution by evaporation, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wooden wall-like frame stuffed with bundles of brushwood (typically blackthorn) that have to be changed every five to ten years, as they become encrusted with mineral deposits over time. [2] 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[ by whom? ] as having beneficial health effects similar to that of breathing in sea air.[ citation needed ]
Large graduation tower complexes are located in Ciechocinek and Inowrocław, Poland. [2] Ciechocinek's entirely wooden construction was erected in the 19th century by Stanisław Staszic. The complex consists of three towers, with a total length of over 2 km. Many tourists visit it for health reasons.[ citation needed ]
With years of initial construction where available. Does not include modern indoor facilities found in some spas.
Jastrzębie-Zdrój is a city in south Poland with 86,632 inhabitants (2021). Its name comes from the Polish words jastrząb ("hawk") and zdrój.
Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of Poland's 16 voivodeships (provinces).
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa. Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Poland is a part of the global tourism market with constantly increasing number of visitors. Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy. The most popular cities are Kraków, Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań, Szczecin, Lublin, Toruń, Zakopane, the Salt Mine in Wieliczka and the historic site of Auschwitz – a German Nazi concentration camp in Oświęcim. The best recreational destinations include Poland's Masurian Lake District, Baltic Sea coast, Tatra Mountains, Sudetes and Białowieża Forest. Poland's main tourist offers consist of sightseeing within cities, historical monuments, natural monuments, business trips, agrotourism, bicycle touring, qualified tourism, mountain hiking (trekking) and climbing among others.
Świnoujście is a city in Western Pomerania and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands of Usedom and Wolin, it also occupies smaller islands. The largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by the Piast Canal dug in the late 19th century to facilitate ship access to Szczecin.
Inowrocław is a city in central Poland with a total population of 70,713 in December 2021. It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is one of the largest and most historically significant cities within Kuyavia.
Bydgoszcz–Toruń metropolitan area is the name of the bi-polar agglomeration in the middle of the Vistula river centered on the cities of Bydgoszcz and Toruń in north-central Poland. The distance between the built-up areas of the cities is about 30 km. They are the administrative capitals and economic centers of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Kuyavia, also referred to as Cuyavia, is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-western, central, and south-eastern.
Krynica-Zdrój is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in Poland often called the Pearl of Polish Spas; and a popular tourist and winter sports destination situated in the heart of the Beskids mountain range.
Kudowa-Zdrój, or simply Kudowa, is a town located below the Table Mountains in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in the southwestern part of Poland. It has a population of around 10,000 and is located at the Polish-Czech border, just across from the Czech town of Náchod, some 40 km (25 mi) west of Polish Kłodzko and 140 km (87 mi) from Prague.
Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg is a spa town of about 4,000 inhabitants in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 1 July 2014, it is part of the town Bad Kreuznach. It was the seat of the former like-named Verbandsgemeinde, but not part of it. Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg was granted town rights on 29 April 1978 and is recognized as a mineral spring spa (Mineralheilbad) and a climatic spa. Today the "Spa" is famous for its clinics specializing in cardiological and orthopaedic rehabilitation. The many graduation towers form the largest open air inhalatorium in Europe.
Busko-Zdrój ( ) is a spa town in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is the capital of Busko County. As of December 2021, it has a population of 15,310.
Ciechocinek is a spa town in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland, located on the Vistula River about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Aleksandrów Kujawski and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-east of the city of Toruń. It is located within the historic region of Kuyavia. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 10,442.
Bad Dürrenberg is a spa town in the Saalekreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 8 km southeast of Merseburg. It is known for its historic graduation tower, the largest one in Germany.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a salt mine in the town of Wieliczka, near Kraków in southern Poland.
Świeradów-Zdrój is a spa town in Lubań County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland near the border with the Czech Republic. The town is located in the Kwisa valley of the Jizera Mountains, a part of the Sudetes range. It lies approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Lubań, and 123 kilometres (76 mi) west of the regional capital Wrocław.
Jedlina-Zdrój is a spa town in Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, in the historic region of Lower Silesia.
Solec-Zdrój is a village in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Solec-Zdrój. It lies on the Rzoska river in historic Lesser Poland, approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) south-east of Busko-Zdrój and 61 km (38 mi) south of the regional capital Kielce. Until 1974, its official name was Solec.
Poznań Główny, anglicised to Poznan Main, is the chief railway station for the city of Poznań, Poland's fifth-largest city, and capital of the Greater Poland Province.
The Ciechocinek graduation towers are a complex of three brine graduation towers, erected in the nineteenth century in Ciechocinek, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. They constitute the largest wooden structure of this type in Europe. The complex of graduation towers and salt breweries, together with two surrounding parks, are designated as a Historic Monument.
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