WATER & WOODS
Bad Orb is reinventing the spa experience and has established itself as a pioneer in future-oriented spa medicine. With the holistic forest therapy concept CURA SILVA and a dedicated spa and healing forest, Bad Orb is working to make traditional remedy more accessible to all. Water and woods: For centuries, salts springs, renowned for their healing properties, have defined the spa town. Yet the forest surrounding Bad Orb remains an untapped source of health. Bad Orb holds the natural potential to combine these natural remedies, creating the spa therapy of tomorrow.
CURA SILVA captures today’s Zeitgeist – combining traditional spa medicine with modern nature-based treatments. This new spa concept addresses society’s growing need for innovative approaches to preventative health care and therapy. Spending time in the forest and engaging in indication-specific forest therapy can strengthen mental health and resilience in an accessible way, while enhancing physical well-being. Escaping everyday life to restore emotional balance and activate self-healing, digitally detoxing, healing through the power of nature goes hand in hand with today’s mindfulness and back-to-nature movements. Together with forest therapy expert Dr. Gisela Immich, Bad Orb has set out to establish Hesse’s first forest health spa as part of the CURA SILVA Spa and Healing Forest. The starting point for this project is the designation of a certified spa and healing forest.
A forestry study has confirmed the exceptional suitability of the Horstberg Forest for medicinal spa and forest therapy. The area boasts rich botanical diversity and a unique population of climate-resistant, ecologically valuable ancient oaks and beeches. The unique wildlife of the Spessart Forest is also considered highly worthy of protection. The forest is home to several rare species of woodpeckers, its emblematic bird, including the great spotted woodpecker, the green woodpecker, and the black woodpecker. Beyond its ecological significance, the Spessart has long been woven into German cultural history. According to legend, the parquet flooring of the world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle was made from Spessart oak. The Spessart inspired the Brothers Grimm, who resided in the Hessian town of Hanau, to write the fairy tales that have shaped our culture. And the bandit tales of the Spessart have become the stuff of legend.