Emperor Heinrich Bath
The Kaiser-Heinrich-Bad is a mineral spring in the north of Beleckes (today part of Warstein ).
history
The claim that the eponymous Emperor Heinrich (see below) bathed in Belecke cannot be substantiated from medieval sources. A relationship between the place name Belecke (handed down as Baduliki around 960) and the mineral spring - that is, Baduliki interpreted as a bathing spring - is also unlikely. The proximity of a Holy Cross chapel with a cross relic to the bath is striking . An infirmary is also said to have stood in the area of the mineral spring. All this suggests a medieval use of the mineralized water.
The old mineral spring dried up around 1890 when a provincial road was built in the direct vicinity of the spring. In 1934 the source was reopened by the Belecker resident Kaspar Bracht and the unemployed musicians of his Kolping Orchestra; they also built the bathhouse . At first this only consisted of today's central part, the old well was on the right (east) next to the bathhouse. This old well is only about 5 m deep.
After the Second World War , there were plans in Belecke to expand a spa district southeast of the old town of Belecke. In order to ensure the supply of the spa district with mineral water , further investigations were carried out. The result of this investigation was a borehole directly in front of the bathhouse, which was sunk in 1963. A drilling in the area of the planned corner of the curve was assessed as hopeless. The new borehole produced mineralized water at a temperature of 13 ° C at a depth of 33 m , which flowed out artesian .
For a long time the Kaiser-Heinrich-Quelle was the only mineral spring in the Sauerland . In 2005, however, significantly higher mineralized and tempered brine was drilled in deep boreholes in Arnsberg .
Since September 2007 the Kaiser-Heinrich-Bad has been a center for exercise and health promotion with a focus on back in prevention and rehabilitation.
Science to the source
The Kaiser-Heinrich-Quelle lies geologically in the area of the Belecker saddle . It is possible that the mineralized water rises on the northern flank of the Belecker saddle. The mineral water that emerges from the Kaiser-Heinrich-Brunnen mineral spring is sodium chloride water with around 6 g of dissolved solids per 1000 g of water. According to the current definition, it is therefore not a source of brine , as the concentration of sodium (1.8 instead of at least 5.6) and chloride (2.9 instead of at least 8.5) is too low. The concentration of 1.7 mg lithium is noticeable , which could only be detected in a few medicinal springs (however, there is usually much higher concentration). Lithium is used therapeutically as an antidepressant , especially in manic-depressive illnesses.
The investigations also showed that mineralized water was also found in the western Drewer quarry (approx. 1.5 km east of the Kaiser-Heinrich-Bades), which, however, is significantly diluted by the inflow of groundwater and rainwater (3.7 g of dissolved solid components 1000 g of water, against almost 6 g from the drilled spring).
Even without a pump, 6–10 cubic meters of the 13 ° C warm mineral water flow out of the 33 meter deep borehole at Kaiser-Heinrich-Bad per hour. In a pumping test, the output was increased to 24 cubic meters per hour. However, the higher the pump output and thus the volume of the drilled well, the lower the mineral concentration in the old well. For this reason, the outflow from the well drilled was reduced to around 10,000 cubic meters per year.
Emperor Heinrich?
It is local tradition in Beleck that Emperor Heinrich already bathed in the Beleck mineral spring. There is no agreement as to which Heinrich it should have been. Even in the explanation of the geological map sheet 4515 Hirschberg you can read:
“Bad Belecke's mineral water has been known for a long time. It has been documented since 938. According to ancient tradition, Emperor HEINRICH I is said to have made the mineral water usable. Emperor HEINRICH II and his wife Kunigunde sought healing in Belecke. "
Quite similar - and yet somewhat different - can be read on CD Clausen and M. Koch about the mineral spring:
"According to tradition, it is said to have been visited by the emperors Otto I and Heinrich II."
Both names are also mentioned in the local history literature. The question remains as to what this information is based on. The year 938 is related to the first historiographical mention of Beleckes . In connection with the uprising Thank Mars which comes castle Belecke ( Castellum Baduliki ) for a night in the focus of imperial history. Thankmar was a son of Heinrich I by his first wife Hatheburg . Thankmar imprisoned his half-brother Heinrich in Belecke Castle. In Gesta Ottonis Hrotsvits you can read:
“With the help of bribed mercenaries, the aforementioned count soon succeeded in taking the Baduliki [castellum Baduliki], which they attacked under cover of the dark night. Heinrich, the king's noble brother, he dragged away as a prisoner, his snow-white hands, which were otherwise adorned with rings, cruelly bound. He scattered Heinrich's huge treasures at random. ” Hrotsvitha v. Gandersheim: Gesta Ottonis. Line 181.
It is possible that Heinrich named in the source text was consciously or unconsciously confused with the emperor Heinrich and in this way found its way into the local tradition of Beleck as an imperial bathing resort about which the medieval sources know nothing. In the mockery of the neighboring town of Warstein , this tradition was reflected in the mockery song "Where Emperor Heinerich washed his muscles ...".
literature
- Josef Rubarth (Ed.): Praesidium Baduliki - Belecke. Monograph of the city of Belecke . Belecke 1970 (published on behalf of the city administration; general and historical information about the Kaiser-Heinrich-Bad)
- Karl Fricke: The mineral spring area of Bad Belecke (Möhne) and the new development of sodium chloride water in 1963 . In: Geologisches Jahrbuch , Vol. 84 (1967), pp. 735–754, ISSN 0016-7851 (detailed description of the new borehole in the area of the mineral spring with historical, geological and hydrological backgrounds)
- Heinrich von Kamp: Hydrogeology . In: Geological map of North Rhine-Westphalia 1: 25000. 4515 Hirschberg. Explanations. Pp. 89-99, here pp. 95-98.
- Claus-Dieter Clausen , Michael Koch: The Kaiser Heinrich fountain . In: Geological map of North Rhine-Westphalia 1: 100000. Sheet C 4714 Arnsberg. Explanations. Pp. 61-64.
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 28.3 " N , 8 ° 19 ′ 50.2" E