Outdoor sports and healing springs. The Libverda spa is also used by the mountain service

Libverdka supports youthful feelings and mature thoughts, proclaims the sign at Kristián's spring on the colonnade in Lázně Libverda. So I drink a glass of healing water, which gushed here in 1793, and drink a very tasty spring.

Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims from Upper Lusatia and Silesia have crossed the Jizera Mountains to visit the nearby church in Hejnice. On the way, they refreshed themselves with "God's water" in Libverda, which always gave them new strength and helped to cure their illnesses.

The reputation of the healing spring also reached the court of the Elector of Saxony August I, who appointed his personal physician Paul Luther in the sixteenth century , to explore the water. The son of a well-known religious reformer found that the water had healing powers, and from then on the monarch had it imported to Dresden.

Later, this miraculous spring was also appreciated by the owner of the local estate, Albrecht from Valdštejn. After his death, Libverda fell to the Clam-Gallas family, and Count Kristián Filip turned the small village into a picturesque spa in the eighteenth century.

More and more well-known personalities from all over Europe began to arrive in Libverda, including the Austrian Emperor Joseph II himself. and the spa became a sought-after healing place. The trend continued even after 1945, when Jan Masaryk, conductor Václav Talich, writer Václav Kaplický and actors Rudolf Deyl Sr., Jan Pivec and Libuše Havelková went to the spa.

Go to the bunker only for green

The healing spring mainly contains calcium, magnesium, potassium and is used for the treatment of diabetes, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, oncological and neurological diseases. Either in the form of drinking treatments or baths.

Inside the pavilion, the Christian spring flows.

"The spring gushes from three wells, from where the water flows into a fifty thousand liter large tank. From there it diverges into drinking fountains and baths," says the balneotechnician at the moment when we are about to enter the so-called bunker, where a huge reservoir is located. But before that, he checks that the green light is on above the door.

“We can only enter the bunker on the green light. If red appears, it means that there is a lot of carbon dioxide inside and we have to wait until the gas is pumped out before entering," the spa worker explains to me.

I look around the large room and all I see is a labyrinth of stainless steel pipes. The employee then opens a small cabinet. "The distribution of the strands is ensured and controlled by the computer. The flow rate is eight to fourteen liters per minute, while the water reaches the surface from a depth of one hundred and thirty one meters. We never had any problems with the springs, our pipes never got clogged. But we clean the tank once a year, which means a shutdown of several days, and the spa is closed at that time," adds the balneotechnician.

Devil on the lookout

Also healthy people can come to the Libverda Spa and undergo numerous wellness procedures (among the best are the Libverda ritual or seashell massage) supplemented with hiking and sports. There are more than enough opportunities to go.

The giant barrel was created above the Spa Libverda in 1930.

The first trip begins after climbing three hundred and five steps to the Giant Barrel. Over eleven meters high and fourteen meters long, the rarity was built by Stefan Hausmann in 1930. He looked at a similar building, which was bought in Vienna and built in Javorník near Český Dub in the nineteenth century by local enthusiasts.

The barrel at Lazne Libverda was built by twelve carpenters, six masons and three joiners. A spacious hall with a gallery was created in it, and later a brick building with a restaurant was added to it. The cask with a volume of over one thousand one hundred hectoliters also aroused interest abroad. In the fifties of the last century, a book about the world's monstrous buildings was published in Great Britain, and in addition to the buildings of Antoni Gaudí, the North Bohemian barrel came to the fore.

From the wooden rarity I then head to the five Libverd viewpoints, from which there are fantastic views of various parts of the Jizera Mountains. The viewpoints are decorated with wooden sculptures that demonstrate their name. Just two hundred meters behind the Giant Barrel, I come across the good spirit Muhu. His appearance rather resembles a Slavic god, but according to legend, Muh was created from the fog by Krakonoš with the Rampušák. The protector of the Jizera Mountains wears a blue coat, has oak leaves on his head, and his limbs resemble gnarled branches.

The tourist circuit Libverdské vyhlídky leads around the Spa Libverda, which shows wonderful views of the Jizera Mountains.

A few kilometers further on, near the settlement of Přebytek, Hell's Bet with a ghostly devil awaits me again, from where, in good weather, the castle in Frýdlanta can be seen. The other viewpoints on the circuit are no less impressive – the Libverd Springs Viewpoint, the Herdsman's Madonna or the Herdsman's Rooster.

Those who would like to hike even further from Lázně Libverda have many hiking trails available to Hubertova bouda, Smrk, Smědava or Jizerskohorské bučiny. In winter, cross-country trails are added to these trips. On them you can get to know the mysterious atmosphere of the northern slope of the Jizera on the cross-country circuit around Libverda, from which you can set off on the nearby Jizerská magistrál.

Lifeguards at the springs

The Libverda spa is apparently the only spa in the Czech Republic where the mountain service operates. This is due to their mountainous location and also due to the fact that the northern part of the Jizera Mountains has the steepest terrain.

"Mountain service was established here in connection with the creation of a single track under Smrk, when more injuries began to appear. But we also intervene in the case of stray tourists, cross-country skiers, injured cyclists or climbers who cannot handle the specific rocky terrain and formations here," says Martin Černý.

All you have to do is climb three hundred and five steps above the Libverda Spa and you will see impressive views of the Jizera Mountains.

Vila Friedland provides wonderful accommodation in a castle style.

"Currently, our office has fourteen employees and forty volunteers help. We transport the injured by car, four-wheeler and Austrian wheelchair. The Záchranka application definitely makes it easier to reach people who need our help faster. The mountain service will receive a call directly to the dispatch center with the location of the person in question. If visitors to the mountains don't have this app, they can call 1210, which works even if you don't have a signal," the rescuer continues.

“Since I was young, I used to walk in the mountains very often and I always wanted to do something useful. That's why working for the Mountain Service is a dream come true for me. Sometimes it's not easy to be on call day and night, you're in constant tension, but the feeling of helping someone or saving their life is great," concludes Černý.

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