ABSTRACT
After chemical analyses of the waters had been carried out at all spas, resident pharmacists and physicians regularly brought out brochures advertising their sources and treatments. Over 200 spas promised to alleviate various common chronic conditions: eczema, skin lesions and ulcers, rheumatism, liver and stomach disorders. They offered therapy and pleasure, or even pleasure first and foremost, with therapy as an option. The discovery of a mineral spring in Ostend in 1856 raised this modest Belgian seaside town to the status of a luxury resort. It soon acquired a thalassotherapy centre, a bottling plant and a Grand Hotel des Thermes and received as many as 80,000 curists every year. Spas changed following the appearance of a European railway network, when some spas began to receive between 10,000 and 70,000 guests during the season. The Grand Hotel, with its spacious ballrooms, sweeping staircases, and uniformed bellboys, aspired to 'serious elegance'.
