Anton Baumann (spa entrepreneur)

Anton Baumann (1851–1907)

Advertisement of the Elisabeth-Sol- und -Moorbath (the widow of Anton Baumann) (1910)

Profile of the Anton Baumann source (sign at the source)

Anton Baumann (* July 5, 1851 in Validstein ; † March 2, 1907 in Schwartau - (today Bad Schwartau)) was a German master brewer and, as an entrepreneur, the founder of the development of spa and bathing in Bad Schwartau .

Life

Anton Baumann was born on July 5, 1851 as the son of a butcher and mayor in Validstein (near Herrenberg in what was then the Kingdom of Württemberg ) and learned the craft of brewing after graduating from school . From 1870 he went on a six-year hike and returned to his home town as a master brewer in 1876 after attending the brewery academy . From 1877 Anton Baumann lived in Bad Schwartau in the Principality of Lübeck (which at that time was a summer resort popular with many visitors ) where he worked as a master brewer at the Lychenheimer brewery there. On January 15, 1886, he married Margarethe Münter.

In 1895 he intended to expand the brewery's product range to include seltzer water, which had become popular at the time . For this purpose, a borehole was made on the premises of the brewery to extract pure deep water. During the drilling, a layer of earth containing a salt solution ( brine ) was encountered at a depth of 316 meters . An analysis showed an approx. 3.5 percent salt content with a high iodine content for the north of Germany . Plans on the part of the brewery owner to use the brine spring came to nothing.

After the end of the brewery, Anton Baumann briefly left Schwartau in 1900 and ran a hotel in Pinneberg , but returned in 1901.

In Schwartau he built a bathhouse, which was opened on June 7th, 1901 as the Elisabeth-Sol- und Moorbad (named after the wife of the Grand Duke of Oldenburg ) and which enjoyed great popularity.

The "Elisabeth-Sol- und Moorbad" made Schwartau into a well-known spa and bathing resort within a short time. Anton Baumann's success led to the opening of the "Friedrich-August-Bad" in 1903.

Anton Baumann obtained the brine for the spa baths from the drilling carried out in 1895 (the "Elisabeth source"), while the mud bath came from the area around Bad Schwartau. After the brewery's premises had been sold to the Fromm brothers' chemical factory (the predecessor of the Schwartauer Werke ) in 1905 , Anton Baumann was denied access to the brine source because the new owners intended to use it themselves (which in 1908 became the Schwartauer Kurhaus emerged).

Then in 1905/1906 Anton Baumann successfully drilled his own borehole (the "Baumanns spring") down to 327 meters in order to get to the brine for the continued operation of his bath.

Others

After his death on March 2nd, 1907, the "Elisabeth-Sol- und Moorbad" was continued by his wife.

The activities of Anton Baumann and the "Elisabeth-Sol- und Moorbad" he founded - which was the only permanent establishment - are the origin of the spa and bathing system that is important for Bad Schwartau as an iodine brine and mud spa , which in 1913 led to recognition as " Bad ”.

Street sign "Anton-Baumann-Straße" in Bad Schwartau

Anton-Baumann-Straße in Bad Schwartau is a reminder of Anton Baumann.

swell

Georg Harders: Anton Baumann, the founder of the spa and bathing system in Bad Schwartau (1851-1907) . In: Jahrbuch für Heimatkunde, Eutin , Jg. 13 (1979), pp. 57-62, ISSN 1866-2730 .
Georg Harders: 75 years of spa and bathing in Bad Schwartau . Bad Schwartau 1978.
Max Steen : Bad Schwartau. From past and present . Weiland-Verlag, Lübeck 1973.
Uwe Bremse: Bad Schwartau. The iodine brine and mud spa of the north . Weiland-Verlag, Lübeck 1987, ISBN 3-87890-064-3 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Baumann, Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German master brewer and, as an entrepreneur, founder of the spa and bathing industry in Bad Schwartau
DATE OF BIRTH	July 5, 1851
PLACE OF BIRTH	Valid stone
DATE OF DEATH	March 2, 1907
Place of death	Bad Schwartau