It all began in the summer of 2024: Bad Orb’s city council unanimously passed a resolution to develop a spa and healing forest. Since then, all stakeholders have been working closely together to bring this project to life. In 2025, alternative site assessments for the planned spa and healing forest were completed alongside detailed reviews of potential areas. The goal is to open the spa and healing forest in spring 2026. The long-term objective is to have Bad Orb officially designated as a forest health spa. To achieve this, the town is lobbying at the state level for the creation of the necessary legal framework, following Bavaria’s example.
Bad Orb is on the verge of a revolutionary transformation: from a traditional health spa to the spa town of the future. The CURA SILVA Spa and Healing Forest Bad Orb is at the heart of this transformation and systematically harnesses the Spessart Forest’s therapeutic climate to promote health, support prevention, and provide effective therapies.
The CURA SILVA spa concept expands the traditional spa profile by incorporating the forest as a natural remedy. Brine from the salt springs remains the medical foundation as the area’s traditional therapeutic resource. This combination of balneology and forest therapy creates a holistic treatment approach: in the mornings, patients receive traditional spa treatments such as baths, massages, liquid cleanses, and in the afternoons, they participate in forest therapy sessions. This concept positions Bad Orb as a pioneer in a new type of spa medicine that integrates conventional medicine, naturopathy, and modern prevention and therapy approaches.
Bad Orb has set out to establish an International Center of Forest Therapy and Spa Science, leveraging its ideal location in the heart of Europe and within one of Germany’s largest forests, the Spessart. The center aims to facilitate exchange among national and international forest therapy research communities and to promote cutting-edge research and scientific discourse. Forest therapy expert Dr. Giseal Immich has been supporting CURA SILVA since 2024 and will lead the center.
The forest is more than just nature’s lifeline – it is a sanctuary for the soul. CURA SILVA seeks to awaken awareness for the forest’s valuable recreational and health benefits. The positive effects of nature-based treatments in forests on mental health and well-being are evident (Schuh & Immich 2019). Studies show that both passive and active stays in the forest improve general health and positively regulate psychological well-being due to the unique microclimate the forests offer. Nature-based treatments carried out directly in the forest under professional guidance are easy to implement and require minimal equipment. These accessible prevention and therapy options are effective tools during times of high mental stress and financial constraints, helping to sustainably anchor and strengthen health and resilience at the local and regional levels. Even a daily 20-minute visit to the forest has been proven to improve health.
“I am inspired by the momentum of the spa town Bad Orb. I am pleased to see both political and private stakeholders committed to the long-term implementation of this important concept. The initiatives underway in Bad Orb are truly promising. Especially deserving of broad recognition is the innovative appreciation of the forest as a therapeutic resource. The Bad Orb Forest is a health-promoting sanctuary that must be carefully nurtured and preserved for forest therapy.”
– Dr. Gisela Immich
Dr. Gisela Immich conducts research on forest and health at the Chair for Public Health and Health Services Research (IBE) at the prestigious LMU Munich. A human biologist and spa sciences expert, she has certifications as an ANFT Forest Therapy Guide (USA) and an INFOM Forest Health Expert (Japan). A founding member of the Competence Center for Forest Medicine and Nature Therapy (Bad Wörishofen).
She conducts research both nationally and internationally and co-authored the definitive textbook on forest therapy together with Prof. Dr. Dr. Angela Schuh, emeritus professor of Medical Climatology.
Create awareness for the forest as an ecosystem
Encourage appreciation for the value and mindful use of the forest for everyday health benefits
Investigate the medical evidence of nature-based therapies
Train municipalities, companies, and other organizations to implement spa forests
Establish a network to promote connectedness with nature as a new resource for health in society and science
Bad Orb is an attractive place to live for young families. The infrastructure initiative of the town, the spa company and the non-profit ALEA Park GmbH aims to create a magnetic effect and further strengthen Bad Orb’s appeal.
Alongside accommodation and medicine, education is an elementary infrastructural component for the attractiveness of Bad Orb as a location. The ALEA SCHOOL, an international school, is being built in Bad Orb. The ALEA SCHOOL is an independent school with a cosmopolitan profile. It will combine the German curriculum with that of the internationally recognized IB (International Baccalaureate) educational standard. The bilingual G9 grammar school can be completed with both a German Abitur and an IB diploma as an internationally recognized university qualification. Planned start of teaching: school year 2025/26.
Bad Orb is on the verge of a revolutionary transformation: from a traditional health spa to the spa town of the future. The CURA SILVA Spa and Healing Forest Bad Orb is at the heart of this transformation and systematically harnesses the Spessart Forest’s therapeutic climate to promote health, support prevention, and provide effective therapies.
The CURA SILVA spa concept expands the traditional spa profile by incorporating the forest as a natural remedy. Brine from the salt springs remains the medical foundation as the area’s traditional therapeutic resource. This combination of balneology and forest therapy creates a holistic treatment approach: in the mornings, patients receive traditional spa treatments such as baths, massages, liquid cleanses, and in the afternoons, they participate in forest therapy sessions. This concept positions Bad Orb as a pioneer in a new type of spa medicine that integrates conventional medicine, naturopathy, and modern prevention and therapy approaches.
Bad Orb has set out to establish an International Center of Forest Therapy and Spa Science, leveraging its ideal location in the heart of Europe and within one of Germany’s largest forests, the Spessart. The center aims to facilitate exchange among national and international forest therapy research communities and to promote cutting-edge research and scientific discourse. Forest therapy expert Dr. Giseal Immich has been supporting CURA SILVA since 2024 and will lead the center.
The CURA SILVA spa concept expands the traditional spa profile by incorporating the forest as a natural remedy. Brine from the salt springs remains the medical foundation as the area’s traditional therapeutic resource. This combination of balneology and forest therapy creates a holistic treatment approach: in the mornings, patients receive traditional spa treatments such as baths, massages, liquid cleanses, and in the afternoons, they participate in forest therapy sessions. This concept positions Bad Orb as a pioneer in a new type of spa medicine that integrates conventional medicine, naturopathy, and modern prevention and therapy approaches.
The forest is more than just nature’s lifeline – it is a sanctuary for the soul. CURA SILVA seeks to awaken awareness for the forest’s valuable recreational and health benefits. The positive effects of nature-based treatments in forests on mental health and well-being are evident (Schuh & Immich 2019). Studies show that both passive and active stays in the forest improve general health and positively regulate psychological well-being due to the unique microclimate the forests offer. Nature-based treatments carried out directly in the forest under professional guidance are easy to implement and require minimal equipment. These accessible prevention and therapy options are effective tools during times of high mental stress and financial constraints, helping to sustainably anchor and strengthen health and resilience at the local and regional levels. Even a daily 20-minute visit to the forest has been proven to improve health.
“I am inspired by the momentum of the spa town Bad Orb. I am pleased to see both political and private stakeholders committed to the long-term implementation of this important concept. The initiatives underway in Bad Orb are truly promising. Especially deserving of broad recognition is the innovative appreciation of the forest as a therapeutic resource. The Bad Orb Forest is a health-promoting sanctuary that must be carefully nurtured and preserved for forest therapy.”
– Dr. Gisela Immich
Dr. Gisela Immich conducts research on forest and health at the Chair for Public Health and Health Services Research (IBE) at the prestigious LMU Munich. A human biologist and spa sciences expert, she has certifications as an ANFT Forest Therapy Guide (USA) and an INFOM Forest Health Expert (Japan). A founding member of the Competence Center for Forest Medicine and Nature Therapy (Bad Wörishofen).
She conducts research both nationally and internationally and co-authored the definitive textbook on forest therapy together with Prof. Dr. Dr. Angela Schuh, emeritus professor of Medical Climatology.
Create awareness for the forest as an ecosystem
Encourage appreciation for the value and mindful use of the forest for everyday health benefits
Investigate the medical evidence of nature-based therapies
Train municipalities, companies, and other organizations to implement spa forests
Establish a network to promote connectedness with nature as a new resource for health in society and science