Szczawnica spa: pump room, waters and the Inhalatorium

The Szczawnica spa (Uzdrowisko Szczawnica) is all about water and air: in the valley of the Grajcarek stream, between the Pieniny and the Beskid Sądecki at 430–500 m, alkaline-saline carbonated springs rise from the ground, and the historic Inhalatorium sanatorium has used them to treat the airways for almost ninety years. The history of the town itself, Dietl Square and the walks are covered on a separate page, Szczawnica; this page is for those who come to improve their health: which waters to taste, what is treated and which procedures can be booked without a full stay. The spa is run by the joint-stock company Uzdrowisko Szczawnica S.A.; Szczawnica has held official spa status since 1967, and as early as 1924 it was recognised as a spa of public utility.

Mineral waters and natural resources

Szczawnica's waters form where the sandstones and shales of the Carpathian flysch were cut by ancient andesite intrusions. All are naturally carbonated hydrogencarbonate-chloride-sodium waters with iodine and boron; they differ mainly in mineralisation. The spa bottles five waters and serves them in the pump room:

• Helena – the lightest, 0.18%; the 30 m borehole was drilled in 1966 in the Lower Park and named after Princess Helena Woroniecka.
• Jan – 0.46%, with a distinct iron taste; known since 1869 and named after its discoverer, Jan Zielonka, manager of the Upper Spa Establishment; it rises 150 m north of Dietl Square.
• Stefan – 0.48%, one of the oldest springs, named in 1828 after the spa's first owner, Stefan Szalay. Under Count Adam Stadnicki this water was served in every dining car of the Galician railways.
• Józefina – 0.59%, discovered in 1822; already in 1878 the spa doctor Onufry Trembecki recommended drinking it with żętyca, sheep's whey.
• Józef – the strongest, 1.10%, a 26.9 m borehole known since 1986.

The spa advises 2–3 glasses a day half an hour before meals unless a doctor says otherwise; because of the boron, a drinking course should not last longer than a month without medical advice. The parks also keep historic spring pavilions: the wooden Waleria (Zdrój Waleryi) of 1867, a listed monument, the carved Magdalena and the Szymon pavilion.

The pump room in the Nad Zdrojami house

The medicinal water pump room (Pijalnia Wód) is on Dietl Square in the Nad Zdrojami house (Dom nad Zdrojami), built by Józef Stefan Szalay in 1863. The building burned down in 2002, the pump room moved temporarily, and the rebuilt house reopened in 2008. You can taste six medicinal waters here; a 200 ml glass costs 4.60 zł (a paper cup 0.40 zł), a five-litre canister 34 zł.

What is treated

The spa specialises in two groups of conditions. The first is the respiratory system: chronic inflammation of the nose and throat, voice disorders, allergic airway diseases and bronchial asthma. The second is the musculoskeletal system: degenerative joint and spine diseases, rheumatic diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. The spa's statute also lists neurology among its treatment profiles. A drinking cure with Szczawnica waters is also prescribed for digestive, kidney and urinary diseases, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis, and gargles and inhalations for chronic inflammation of the airways and the oral mucosa.

The main facility is the Inhalatorium sanatorium (Park Górny 2) in the heart of the Upper Park. Count Adam Stadnicki built it in 1934–1936 on the site of the old Zamek spa house. It houses the hydrotherapy department (Zakład Przyrodoleczniczy) and the Spa Clinic, and its speciality is brine inhalation in chambers. Treatments are open not only to spa patients but also to visitors, either with a referral or after a paid consultation at the clinic. Sample prices: chamber inhalation 30 zł (children 3–8: 21 zł), AMSA inhalation 35 zł, mineral or brine bath, peat (borowina) or sulphur bath 50 zł each, peat pack 35 zł, local cryotherapy 30 zł, cryosauna 50 zł, laser 30 zł, massage 60 zł. All treatment is prescribed by a doctor; this page is not medical advice.

Practical information

Szczawnica lies a few kilometres from Krościenko nad Dunajcem on the Nowy Targ – Nowy Sącz road; buses stop on Główna Street, a few minutes' walk from Dietl Square. There is a paid car park next to the Inhalatorium (20 zł per day). Half an hour is enough for the pump room; allow half a day for treatments. According to the spa, the pump room is open Monday to Thursday 9:00–18:00 and Friday to Sunday 9:00–20:00.

Nearby: trails, peaks, sights

The Przehyba – Szczawnica Zdrój trail into the Beskid Sądecki starts from the spa quarter. An easier outing is the ascent of Palenica above the town, and a kilometre and a half from the centre is the Zaskalnik Falls.

Official website: uzdrowiskoszczawnica.pl

Photos: Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Szydzio, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Adrian Tync, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.