Different kind od health resorts have almost 200 years of history in Estonia. It all started from small towns called Haapsalu, Parnu and Kuressaare. Their most important resource was a mud that has healing power. But how did things look like during Soviet times? What kind of meaning had “spa” and “resort” back then? 20 years ago there were no places called “spa” in Estonia. But we had sanatoriums, therapeutic vouchers, radon and bromine baths, staff of sanatoriums wearing white smocks, and shows by “foreign” performers taking place in resort clubs. Sanatoriums were popular and people went there usually for weeks. With the aim to be a healthy and useful citizen for their country, of course.
Every citizen of Soviet country had to be strong and healthy – contributing to the health of its people was one of the most important functions of national social system. Establishing, rearranging, and expanding the network of sanatoriums, holiday homes, and guesthouses was regulated by different regulations. The process was coordinated by an institution which might be translated like – Estonian Republican Council of Union of Governing Resorts.
Through Unions workers were provided Holiday Vouchers. These were for free or with 30% self-payment. There were different kind of vouchers – for therapeutic and holiday use, for families and just for mothers with kids. In 1988 there were several sanatoriums in Parnu, Haapsalu, Kuressaare, Narva-Joesuu, Varska, and holiday homes in Vosu, Pühajarve, and Laulasmaa. Due to re-independence many projects of resort development were stopped. For example holiday home in Laulasmaa was planned to re-build as a sanatorium of heart and blood vessels diseases.
Sanatoriums back then were specialized – some for digestive diseases, some for bone and joint diseases, or peripheral nervous system, gynecological diseases and so on. People from countryside were not used to visit holiday homes – they wanted to get sanatorium therapies. Therefore majority of holiday homes were restructured to sanatoriums.
The most popular treatments were mud, seawater, peat, radon, pine-extract, salt, iodine, and bromine baths. But also therapeutic showers, carbon dioxide and pearl baths, stretching, ozokerite and paraffin therapies, and physiotherapy.
As people spent weeks in sanatoriums, there were always entertainment and leisure time opportunities. Larger sanatoriums had their own clubs with concerts, lectures, evening with dance and poems, chess competitions etc. Sanatoriums had usually skiing centers, but also playgrounds and volleyball or basketball squares.
Nostalgic, isn`t it? Like in an old movies…
Inspiration from Sabina Kaukis, SpaaBlogi
Marko Siller is a tourism and tourism education marketing expert in University of Tartu Parnu College in Estonia. Parnu College is well-known for its tourism education. Wellness sector is a continuously growing part of tourism industry, which makes wellness education an attractive field of studies.
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