One of the loveliest ways to arrive in Bad Marienberg is along the WesterwaldSteig trail, which leads straight through this charming spa resort to the ‘Park der Sinne’, where many hikers choose to pause for a while and give their feet a rest on the barefoot trail. Wood chippings, pine needles and river gravel underfoot add up to a pleasant tingling in the feet. Then it is time for a refreshing walk around the Kneipp pool.
Since 1961, Bad Marienberg has been the only Kneipp spa in the Westerwald. It was allowed to add the ‘Bad’ prefix to its name in 1967 and now offers a range of spa treatments at its respected ‘MarienBad’ adventure and wellness pool.
The apothecary garden within the spa grounds has been designed in the style of a traditional monastery garden in line with the teachings of Pastor Kneipp. In front of the entrance, as designed by Kneipp, there is a dangle bench, where even the longest of legs can dangle. Not only does this relieve the knee and ankle joints, it is in line with Kneipp’s recommendation to chill out and, figuratively speaking, let things dangle from time to time.
As you relax and dangle your legs, you can enjoy the seductive aromas of more than 100 herbs and flowers. Knowledge about the healing powers and flavours of herbs and flowers goes back to ancient times. But it had largely been lost by Pastor Kneipp’s times. He made sure that it saw a revival. Using natural methods to boost immunity, stay healthy and find balance forms the heart of the Kneipp treatment. His teachings are based on the five pillars of water, nutrition, plants, exercise and lifestyle.
Relax your body and soul on the ‘dangle bench’ in the apothecary garden in Bad Marienberg, Westerwald
These days, Pastor Kneipp would relish people’s new-found awareness of wild herbs, which are once again highly revered for their nutritional and health benefits. They also contain between two and four times as many trace elements, vitamins and minerals as cultivated plants. They are tasty additions to many dishes and relieve colds, stomach problems and other minor ailments.
Herb expert Iris Franzen looks after the apothecary garden in Marienberg. The plants, most of which also grow wild in the forests, verges and meadows around Bad Marienberg, have become her passion. She runs cookery courses, workshops and herb walks to show how you can conjure up colourful and delicious dishes, honey, syrup, blossom salt and massage oil from herbs and petals.
Enjoy the aromatic herbs in the apothecary garden in Bad Marienberg, Westerwald
Walk on the sensory barefoot path in Bad Marienberg, Westerwald
Lush green clearings have grown up in the areas around Bad Marienberg where basalt was once quarried, and filling a basket with herbs takes no time at all. If you join Iris Franzen for a wander through the meadows and woods around Bad Marienberg, you will be able to discover, taste and collect wild herbs you may not have known existed and you certainly would not have known what to do with.
The white bedstraw and meadowsweet blossoms add flavour to milk and cream in desserts, bluebells make a delicate addition to a salad and the reddish sorrel petals look fabulous on a carrot soup. The stinging nettle seeds hanging in thick bunches from the plants in summer are a real energy bomb. These ‘meadow nuts’ are full of vitamins and minerals and taste great roasted or dried on top of salad or in muesli. However, eating nettle seeds was strictly forbidden in Medieval monasteries as they were considered an aphrodisiac that could tempt the monks away from chastity.
The year 2020 marked 200 years since the birth of Sebastian Kneipp. To celebrate, Kneipp-Bund e.V. has launched ‘Kneipp 2021’, a campaign to promote the potential of Kneipp’s natural methods for healthcare and healing purposes.
With herb expert Iris Franzen in the apothecary garden in Bad Marienberg, Westerwald
