Gesundbrunnen (Düben Heath)

Healthy well
	location
Country or region	Dübener Heide , North Saxony district , Saxony , Germany
Coordinates	51 ° 37 ′ 18 ″ N , 12 ° 37 ′ 0 ″ E
	geology
Exit type	collected source
	Hydrology
River system	Elbe
Receiving waters	NN → Schleifbach → Mulde

51.621667 12.616667Coordinates: 51 ° 37 ′ 18 ″ N , 12 ° 37 ′ 0 ″ E

The Gesundbrunnen is a source of iron that is low in sodium and nitrite in the forest of the Düben Heath near the spa town of Bad Düben .

The legend of the Dübener Gesundbrunnen

On a board next to the Gesundbrunnen is a board with the following legend:

“ A wanderer moved towards his home town of Düben after a long absence. Exhausted, he lay down to rest near the desert village of Kabesicz. During the night he woke up and saw a little man struggling with a stone. He helped the little man, and a spring sprang out from under the stone. The little man advised him to drink from it and he felt his strength come back. He got up and reached his loved ones. Since then, the population has been using the power of the Gesundbrunnen for many centuries - those who drink it achieve beauty and courage. "

There is also a more detailed version of the legend.

location

The Gesundbrunnen is located approx. 3.4 km from Bad Düben in the forest of the Düben Heath. The Gesundbrunnen can best be reached on foot or by bike. The "Kurgebiet" car park at the Obermühle in Parkstrasse, Bad Düben is a good starting point . From there, the 3.4 km long target path (Terinkurweg TK3) or the 7 km long circular path (Terrainkurweg TK4) can be used. The paths are flat and well developed.

Emergence

geology

From a geological point of view, the source is in a special place. The landscape of the Düben Heath is characterized by Pleistocene terminal moraine formations with upstream meltwater formations. This landscape is characterized by small, mostly forested hills. The soil consists mainly of sand-brown podsol with partial bog formation . This is where the source arises .

Hydrology

The Gesundbrunnen is a source of iron that is low in sodium and nitrite . The iron content of the water is so high that it can be visually detected. This can be recognized by the red-brown color on the well surround, the stones and the silt in the stream. However, the microscopic iron particles in the water are not visible to the naked eye. The iron was presumably deposited at the bottom of a sea in the Tertiary around 30 million years ago. The groundwater here comes from deeper layers in which a physical precipitation of iron from the rock layers there took place. Long contact with the water transports these washed-out particles to the surface of the earth. If they get to the surface and into the stream, the divalent iron oxidizes to trivalent iron, to put it simply, the iron rusts. This results in the red-brown color on the stones and in the silt of the stream. With every drop of water, these iron particles attach themselves to everything that touches the water. The sandy forest floor is particularly suitable for this, so that the sand is completely colored and iron sludge is created at the bottom of the stream.