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Altitude therapy at the sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis

28. October 2019 | Esther Peter | Keine Kommentare |

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Open-air treatment in a luxury sanatorium
For decades, sanatorium treatment in mountain climates was regarded as the standard therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis. In Davos, the physician Alexander Spengler began to offer altitude therapies in the 1860s. Within a few years, the mountain village developed into a flourishing health resort. Luxury sanatoriums – such as those described by Thomas Mann in the Zauberberg – were aimed at a wealthy international clientele. The cure included hours of resting in the open-air combined with a rich diet.

The Davos-Dorf Sanatorium highlights comfort in its advertisement brochure from the turn of the century: electric light, low-pressure steam heating and a hydraulic lift. Six meals were served daily between 8:30 and 21:00. The pension price per day was Fr. 10. The rooms costed additionally Fr. 1.50 to Fr. 8, depending on location and size.
Floor plan of the Hotel Davos-Dorf. On the ground floor there were separate open-air treatment halls for men and women.
Most rooms on the upper floors were equipped with private terraces and balconies. Conversation and music rooms provided entertainment. The medical facilities included an operating room and a bacteriological laboratory

«Here I can strengthen myself»
Next to Davos, tuberculosis sanatoriums were built mainly in Arosa, Leysin and Crans-Montana. Arosa emulated Davos and advertised with the effect of the mountain climate. «The gas exchange is increased, the breast widens, the entire metabolism is stimulated, the number of red blood cells increases within a few weeks, the blood circulates well in the skin, the feeling of cold disappears, and everyone feels: here I can strengthen myself, here I must recover» , describes an advertising brochure of the interwar years the effect.

Open-air treatment hall in the Parksanatorium Arosa

«Direct exposure of the entire skin surface to the sun»
Leysin specialized in sun cures. Under the management of Auguste Rollier, a number of clinics for heliotherapy were established from 1903. It was not lung patients who were treated, but those with skin and bone tuberculosis. The therapy consisted in irradiating the whole skin surface with high-altitude sun. In order to facilitate the reintegration after the long lasting therapies, the children’s clinic operated a “school in the sun”. Adults were instructed in manual work.

Advertising brochure of the clinics by Dr. Rollier, Leysin. Men at the sun and work cure, children at sports. School lessons took place open-air when the weather allowed it.

Sanatoriums also for the underprivileged
Only the wealthy could afford a spa treatment in a private sanatorium. However, tuberculosis was a widespread disease. It was one of the most frequent causes of death, especially among young adults, and led to great hardship among the poorer classes of the population. Swiss Cantons and charitable foundations responded by setting up public sanatoriums. The first in Switzerland was Heiligenschwendi in Berne in 1895. The Zurich Höhenklinik Wald opened in 1898.

Instructions for patients at the people’s sanatorium of Heiligenschwendi, 1909. The open-air treatment was to be carried out exactly as prescribed. With advanced healing, light work in the fresh air was added. The stay at the sanatorium was also intended to be a “school for a healthy lifestyle” for the sick poor. They were encouraged to eat healthy food, abstain from alcohol and keep clean.

Sanatoriums become hotels
From the 1950s onwards, the number of patients in the sanatoria fell rapidly. Tuberculosis was treatable with drugs and the number of patients decreased due to better living conditions. Sanatoria were gradually closed. Some of them oriented their services to other patient groups. The Höhenklinik Wald became a rehabilitation center. Private sanatoriums often became hotels. So did the famous Schatzalp in Davos, which inspired Thomas Mann for the Zauberberg. Today, the art nouveau hotel is proud of its roots and is promoting its past as a glamorous luxury sanatorium.


[1] Arosa, der hochalpine Kurort, herausgegeben vom Verkehrsverein.

Abgelegt unter: ExhibitionsHistory of Medicine
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