The German Spa in the Long Eighteenth Century - A Cultural History (Hardcover)

Shifting the focus from the medical use of spas to their cultural and social functions, this study shows that eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century German spas served a vital role as spaces where new ways of perceiving the natural environment and conceptualizing society were disseminated. Although spas continued to be places of health and healing, their function and perception in central Europe changed fundamentally around the middle of the eighteenth century. This transformation of the role of the spa occurred in two ways. First, the spa popularized a new perception of the landscape with a preference for mountains and the seacoast, forming the basis for the cultural assumptions underlying modern tourism. Second, contemporaries perceived spas as meeting places comparable to institutions of Enlightenment sociability like coffeehouses, salons, and Masonic lodges. Spas were conceived as spaces where the nobility and the bourgeoisie could interact on an equal footing, thereby overcoming the constraints of early modern social boundaries. These changes were negotiated through both personal interactions at spas and an increasingly sophisticated published spa discourse. The late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century German spa thus helped to bring about social and cultural modernity.

General

Imprint:	Routledge
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Routledge Studies in Cultural History
Release date:	August 2021
Authors:	Ute Lotz-Heumann
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	350
ISBN-13:	978-0-367-44095-4
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > Theory & methods > Historiography Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > European history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > European history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > Theory & methods > Historiography Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Promotions
LSN:	0-367-44095-4
Barcode:	9780367440954

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