The aim of the article was to examine the relations between the cultural landscape of villages and the spa areas located in them based on an example of Solec-Zdrój village in Świętokrzyskie Voivodship. Tourism industry, including spa industry (eg. Solec-Zdrój, Przerzeczyn-Zdrój, Długopole-Zdrój and other) has been present in the Polish rural areas for hundreds of years. It has been taking advantage of the landscape treated as an easily accessible material for the pro-duction of tourist attractions. Tourism and culture are closely related. Tourism enriches, protects and popularises cultural heritage. The widely understood cul-ture becomes an important element of touristic programmes, promotes culture and tourism-related journeys. Moreover, it has a well-defined place in the sightseeing, spa, study, educational, linguistic, alternative and pilgrim tourism. Cultural tour-ism constitutes one of the fastest developing segments of the global tourism mar-ket. The demeanour of self-governments and citizens, who seek sources of income in the development of tourism, is also relevant. The situation of spa towns and vil-lages with extra qualities, such as medicinal waters, microclimate and cultural heritage including the objects of spa infrastructure, is extremely beneficial. ...
In the elaboration a special attention has been paid to the preserved envi-ronmental, landscape, cultural values in the former, small Lower Silesian village of Sokołowsko, the place located nearby Wałbrzych in Suche Mountains. It is a typical tourist village. Sokołowsko has a peculiar climate, thanks to which it was a famous resort, a thriving spa before the Second World War (German name - Görbersdorf). While discussing the place one it is impossible not to pay attention to its natural, topographic, landscape and climatic values. Although, especially recently, they are not used to a sufficient degree, still it is worth mentioning the growth of consciousness, that they should be preserved, and as a way of marketing strongly exposed in the context of village development. They constitute the foun-dation of contemporary existence of the place, improvement of its image, popularity.
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In the elaboration attention has been paid to Szczawnica, a town in Mało-polskie province, Nowy Targ poviat, located in one of the most beautiful spots in the South Poland, where Pieniny Mountains meet Beskid Sądecki, in the valley of Grajcarka stream, tributary of Dunajec. Since the half of 19th century it has been a famous spa, functioning for almost 200 years. In 2005 by court's ruling the spa returned to its prewar owners - the family of Stadniccy counts. Carried out anal-yses, on-site visits, stocktaking, local surveys enabled learning more about the place, bringing closer its general potential, enabled drawing proper conclusions, especially in the context of tourist potential including spa potential of this special place, taking into consideration first of all unique natural environment. ...
The study presents environmental assets of Przerzeczyn-Zdrój, the smallest spa in Poland. Przerzeczyn-Zdrój is a village located in the commune of Niemcza, in Dzierżoniów poviat, Lower-Silesia voivodship. The population is ca. 700 per-manent inhabitants in the residential part and accommodation for ca. 170 visitors is offered in the spa part. The village is in green area, surrounded by meadows, fields and copses, at the foot of the Owl Mountains which are one of the tourist attractions of the region. The climate and natural, medicinal mineral waters (sulphurous, radon and ferruginous), unique not only in Poland, but also on European scale, are among the many environmental assets of the place.
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Spa town are usually areas highly attractive with regard to country lore and their natural environment. The environmental values of each spa influence their efficiency. Environmental values include: elements of tourist infrastructure, tourist attractions, tourist services which are in demand on the tourism market. Two spas from the Kotlina Jeleniogórska have been the subject of the study: Świeradów-Zdrój and Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój. One may consider them to be the more efficient spas in the Lower Silesia region. To a certain degree, they owe the high level of curative services they provide, as well as the standard of their spa infrastructure, to the basic determinants of the area, which influence the spatial features of the spas. These determinants include: sources of therapeutic natural resources (the climate, mineral springs, peats, peloids); green patterns which are unique with regard to their aesthetic, historical and compositional values; the presence of neighbouring large forest complexes, which influence the climatic and therapeutic conditions and which provide an aesthetic background for the spa establishment; the spa's localisation within or in the vicinity of legally protected areas; its localisation in areas traditionally used for leisure; its localisation in ar-eas accessible through public transport (efficient communication routes).
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The research described in this paper is centred around the small spa village of Goczałkowice-Zdrój (German: Bad Gottschalkowitz), located in the south of Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, the Pszczyński poviat, and the Goczałkowice-Zdrój commune. Along with the rise in the importance of the tourist services sector - including spa services - the tourist product of this tourist town has become the subject of a complex analysis and evaluation in the context of adapting it to the requirements of the market and the needs of consumers, as well as indicating directions for its development. In order to be successful on the national and international tourist market, as well as stay ahead of their competitors, Polish spas should adjust their policies to the needs and determinants of the contemporary market, providing a proper product - preferably an individualised and integrated one, sufficient for the challenging triple-segmented (patient, patient-tourist, tourist) market. ...
The study deals with the well-established spa-recreational function in the small Austrian town of Baden bei Wien (Baden ner Vienna), part of the Vienna agglomeration. Its location in the Vienna Woods is especially beneficial to the city's inhabitants, who consider this spa town as a major place for rest and relaxation, especially on the weekends. The combination of medical functions with tourist functions brought to life in Baden bei Wien is a positive phenomena, since spas based exclusively on the medical-therapeutic model are not always able to survive within market economy. The spa model, based only on spa treatment, without any recreational-tourist activity, stands against EU requirements and contemporary expectations within market economy. ...
This paper presents an assessment of the water quality of the Bochotniczanka river flowing through the area of community Naleczów and Spa Park resort in Nałęczów. It also identifies the root causes of pollution of the river and the measures to improve the status quo. It was found that the factors that have direct impact on water quality of the river are: study area pollution, especially surface runoff of eroded fields, as well as point pollution associated with disordered wastewater management in the catchment, which include, among others: farm cows, vacuum trucks base and horse riding. Physico-chemical indicators that indicate poor quality of the water in the tested river were: BOD5, ChZTCr, suspended solids and phosphates. Mean values of these ratios were generally outside the scope of the designated quality class in the Regulation of the Ministry of Environment [2011]. It was indicated that the abundance of coliforms and faecal coliforms, recorded in the waters of the Bochotniczanka river, in accordance with the Regulation of Ministry of Environment [2004], degrades it to V - the worst quality class and indicates their direct contamination by domestic waste. It was observed that the presence of a dam reservoir in the form ...
The study shows the uncommon combination of the curative function with the industrial function as exemplified by the Ustroń spa. Ustroń is a small town with 15 588 residents. It is located in the southern part of the Silesia voivodeship, in the Cieszyn powiat. It is part of the Silesian Beskids and is also located in the valley of the Vistula river and its Jaszowiec tributary, at the foot of Równica. In the last couple of centuries Ustroń was subject to significant spatial and developmental changes. This involves the succession of functions from agriculture, herding, wagoning, iron mining, steel-work, activities related to metal and machine industry to the tourist function, especially curative and recreational tourism. The coexistence of the two functions can be referred to as uncommon as usually they are mutually exclusive and do not exist alongside. Research conducted in Ustroń allowed to conclude that it is an example of a town in which these two very different functions may in fact complement each other. The coexistence of the industrial function with the curative-recreational function has been possible for many years due to the location's numerous tourist values, especially environmental ones. A great role in the development of Ustroń ...
The study deals with Świeradów-Zdrój, one of the many spas in the Lower Silesia region. This small town of 4 498 residents (as registered in March 31, 2011) and of 20,72 km² of area is located in the south-western part of the Lower Silesian voivodeship, and in the southern part of the Lubań poviat. It is partially located in the Sudetes at 450-710 mamsl, in the Izerskie Mountains and in the valley of the Kwisa river (the so-called Świeradów Dell) and in the vicinity of Jelenia Góra. The study focuses mostly on the town's large-size spa structures, the forms they assume, the building material, their colours and age. These buildings are undoubtedly a source of the town's spa potential, as well as an element of its tourist potential, especially when it comes to skiing. ...
