Location: |
Bad Kreuznach.
(49.839555, 7.851429) |
Open: | only during medical treatment |
Fee: | n/a |
Classification: | Rock Mine Radontherapy porphyr mine |
Light: | Incandescent |
Dimension: | |
Guided tours: | n/a |
Photography: | |
Accessibility: | |
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Address: | Kur-und Salinenbetriebe der Stadt Bad Kreuznach, Horst Lunkenheimer, Tel: +49-671-8000 |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1904 | radioactivity discovered in the springs of Bad Kreuznach by the apothecary Dr. Karl Aschoff. |
1911 | Dr. Karl Aschoff proved the existence of a high amount of radon in the Rudolf-Stollen. |
1912 | Inhalatorium (place to inhale the gas) built.. |
The Rudolf-Stollen (Rudolf adit) was built to mine porphyr, a reddish stone used for sculptures, furniture and paperweights. This volcanic rock contains high amounts of radon which accumulate in the adit.
The history of radon-balneology, the usage of natural radon gas for medical purposes, is connected very closely with the history of the Bad Kreuznach spa. Since the discovery of the radioactivity in 1904, huge parts of the medical history of this therapy was written in Bad Kreuznach.
Bad Kreuznach is the only place in Germany, where the inhalation of radon gas is used for medical treatment. It is by far not the only one in the world, but one of the most important!
The prefix Bad in the name of the town means spa in German. It is given to villages with certain medical institutions. Bad Kreuznach deserved this name not only because of the radon adit, but also because of mineral springs which were used even earlier.