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Until well into the 20th century, stays in a health resort were also common for children. They spent weeks or months separated from their parents. Jörg Zemp, now 65, remembers his stay at the Theresia children’s Kurhaus in Unterägeri.

Jörg Zemp was interviewed by Ursula Reis, subject specialist for medical history at the Main Library – Medicine Careum.

How old were you during your stay in the children’s Kurhaus and what was the reason for your stay?

That was in 1961. I was six years old and lived with my family in Ebikon near Lucerne. I was sent to the children’s Kurhaus to recover from pneumonia. I could not find out who ordered this curative stay. Probably our village doctor. However, I still remember how I got sick. One day I was uncomfortable in kindergarten. I went home and stayed in bed for a long time. I must have had a high fever. Kindergarten was cancelled for me until the end of the year.

What memories do you have of everyday life in the children’s children’s spa?

I suffered because of the separation from home. I did not understand why I was there. I woke up at night and was homesick. I remember looking out of the windows at the lake, wondering what was happening, and whether it would end soon. That is my main memory of that time: a feeling of being abandoned.

The children’s Kurhaus was run by nuns dressed in white. I remember large metal tubs for bathing. We were stuck in and scrubbed. For the outdoor lying cures, we were wrapped in thick woolen blankets. We could hardly turn our heads to talk to each other. The couches stood on the terrace with a little distance between them.

The photo with my mother was taken during a visit of my parents. Of course, I was very happy about the reunion. We went for a walk a little further away from the Kurhaus, where I had not been otherwise. During my stay, I also sent cards to my parents, which we children made in the handicraft hours with the nuns.

What was the reason you wanted to find out more about this stay years later?

I lost my mother at an early age. She died of cancer when I was twelve years old. Her death affected me and got me interested to look for traces of my past. About fifteen years ago, during a visit of father who was then still alive, I saw that he was sorting photos. He was a passionate amateur photographer. Among other things, I came across the photo of me with my mother at the children’s Kurhaus and became curious.

I was in Unterägeri recently. Unfortunately, the building is no longer there. It was demolished in the 1980s. The Theresia children’s Kurhaus closed in 1965, only four years after my stay. A private children’s sanatorium had already existed in the same building since 1881. In the 1930s, the Heiligkreuz sisters of Cham had taken it over and named it Kinderkurhaus Theresia.