Długopole-Zdrój

Długopole-Zdrój is a small spa village in south-western Poland, situated within the administrative district of Gmina Bystrzyca Kłodzka in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of the latest available figures, it has a population of 540 residents and extends roughly one kilometre along the valley of the Nysa Kłodzka River. The settlement lies at an elevation between 370 and 400 metres above sea level, approximately six kilometres south of Bystrzyca Kłodzka, twenty-two kilometres south of the county seat Kłodzko, and 102 kilometres south of the regional capital Wrocław.

The earliest documentary mention of the area dates to 1346, when the local village—then part of the Bohemian crown lands—was granted to the von Glubos family of Szczerba Castle. By 1381, the von Glubos mill on the Nysa Kłodzka had been endowed to the hospital at Bystrzyca Kłodzka, a benefaction that provided revenue until the early seventeenth century. In 1563, the first alum mine was established within what is now the spa grounds, although mining ceased after the Thirty Years’ War when the collapse of the “Gab Gottes” adit allowed carbonated waters to render mineral extraction impracticable. These carbonated springs would later prove the foundation for the village’s emergence as a health resort.

Interest in the therapeutic potential of Długopole’s waters grew in the early modern period. In 1705, physician Christoph Ohm included the local ferrous spring in his survey of Silesian medicinal waters, and by 1762 private bathing facilities had begun to appear. The modern spa era commenced in 1802 under the German name Bad Langenau, when the Wolf family, local millers and proprietors of the springs, inaugurated public therapeutic baths. Initial facilities comprised sixteen wooden cabins fitted with tubs; within a decade, a pump room and a modest spa house were erected over the principal “Emilia” spring. Subsequent decades saw the establishment of new water intakes—“Eliza” in 1876 and “Renata” in 1904—as well as the gradual enlargement of parkland and guest accommodations. The arrival of the railway in 1875, and the opening of a station in 1882 on the Wrocław–Międzylesie line, integrated the spa more closely into regional networks of health tourism.

By the late nineteenth century, ownership of the spa had passed through several hands, most notably Dr. Julius Hancke of Wrocław, whose investments between 1839 and 1875 stimulated the most intensive phase of structural development. Alongside classic mineral baths, peat treatments were introduced from 1844, diversifying the therapeutic repertoire. At the turn of the twentieth century, Bad Langenau could accommodate around seven hundred visitors during its summer season, drawn by the reputed benefits of its alkaline, ferrous-rich waters and the mild mountain-valley climate, which was particularly recommended for circulatory and respiratory conditions.

The upheavals of the Second World War saw the spa repurposed as a forest military hospital, although the village itself escaped major physical destruction. Retreating forces removed or destroyed much of the spa equipment, and in 1945 the territory passed into Polish administration. The following year, the settlement was officially renamed Długopole-Zdrój, replacing its former German designation. Initial postwar years were marked by administrative flux: between 1945 and 1954 the village served as the seat of a rural commune, later reorganized as a gromada (the smallest unit of local government) until 1972, and between 1975 and 1998 it was part of Wałbrzych Voivodeship. Despite these shifts, the spa enterprise gradually resumed operations: in 1946 the State Spa Company took over key guesthouses and medical facilities, and a rehabilitation centre for patients recovering from viral hepatitis was inaugurated in 1956.

The ensuing decades witnessed further restoration and modernization. Between 1958 and 1964 the Institute of Natural Medicine was reestablished, offering both hydrotherapy and emerging fields such as physiotherapy. A revitalization of the spa park culminated in its reopening in 1970, and in 1966 the Długopole-Zdrój resort was administratively linked with the better-known Lądek-Zdrój complex, creating a joint organizational structure. However, the flood of July 1997—often termed the “millennium flood”—inflicted extensive damage on spa infrastructure, necessitating renewed investment in flood defenses and facility repair.

Today, the Długopole-Zdrój health resort specializes in treatments for orthopedic and traumatic conditions, peripheral vascular diseases, digestive disorders, rheumatological ailments, diabetes, and disorders of the hematopoietic system. A distinctive feature is the “dry carbon dioxide bath,” which exploits locally sourced CO₂ effluent in a controlled, gas-based therapy chamber. Alkaline mineral waters, rich in bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, sodium, silica, radon, and iron, are employed in traditional bathing and drinking regimens. Among the three principal springs—Emilia, Kazimierz, and Renata—their varied mineral compositions underlie tailored therapeutic programs. Beyond water-based therapies, the spa offers comprehensive rehabilitation services for post-mastectomy patients, neurosis, and gastric diseases, aided by the region’s temperate climate, which supports recuperation from asthma and circulatory ailments.

The physical heart of the resort comprises three health-resort hospitals—Mieszko, Ondraszek, and Dąbrówka—alongside the Fortuna sanatorium, a specialized clinic, and the Karol Natural Medicine Institute, housed in the historic 1839 pump house. The spa park, originally laid out in 1819 and subsequently enlarged, features tree-lined promenades, viewing terraces, ornamental pools, and a commemorative boulder marking the fifteenth anniversary of the town’s “liberation” in 1960. Within the park stands the wooden promenade hall—rebuilt in 1930—now serving as the main Spa House, while the Evangelical church of the late nineteenth century, after a period as a warehouse, was converted into a guesthouse and café, preserving its architectural character. Numerous guesthouses and residential buildings dating from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries contribute to the village’s historic streetscape.

The local economy remains closely linked to spa tourism, supplemented by small-scale retail and hospitality services in the historic core. Transport connections via regional rail and road maintain accessibility for both domestic and international visitors, while the surrounding Kłodzko Valley offers opportunities for hiking, cycling, and winter sports in nearby mountain resorts. Administrative oversight continues under Gmina Bystrzyca Kłodzka, with municipal planning balancing heritage conservation against modern amenity development. Despite its modest size, Długopole-Zdrój exemplifies the endurance of Central European spa traditions, combining centuries-old hydrotherapy practices with contemporary medical rehabilitation in a setting shaped by both natural mineral wealth and a layered historical legacy.