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HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Adv Clin Exp Med 2008, 17, 1, 109–112
ISSN 1230−025X
© Copyright by Silesian Piasts
University of Medicine in Wrocław
JADWIGA KUCIEL−LEWANDOWSKA, MAŁGORZATA PAPROCKA−BOROWICZ,
ARKADIUSZ LEWANDOWSKI, KRZYSZTOF ALEKSANDROWICZ
Bolesław Lutostański (1837–1890) – Hygienist
and Health Resort Physician of 19th Century Iwonicz
Bolesław Lutostański (1837–1890) – higienista,
lekarz zdrojowy Iwonicza w XIX wieku
Department of Physiotherapy, Silesian Piasts University of Medicine in Wrocław, Poland
Abstract
Bolesław Lutostański was a comprehensively educated doctor, a master of the pen, and considered a walking ency−
clopedia by the medical community. He was particularly dedicated to hygiene, balneology, and journalism. He was
a health resort physician in Iwonicz from 1875–1877 and a co−originator of the health resort industry and the first
law on health resorts. His struggle on behalf of the natural resources of Iwonicz allowed the creation of a protec−
tive zone around Iwonicz Zdrój to save its curative waters from pollution. He supervised the successive stages of
the chemical examination of Iwonicz’s water and was the first to define the obligations of a health resort physician.
Thanks to him, high−quality spa baths, a waterworks, hydrants, and a twenty−bed health resort hospital were built.
He participated in the creation of the first waterworks in Krakow. He was editor and co−author of various journals
and also published information leaflets about Iwonicz. In 1889 he became the first editor of the Przewodnik
Higieniczny (“A Guide to Hygiene”). His journalistic works have not yet been published. The aim of the follow−
ing article is to present a profile of this marvelous physician as well as to show his innovative activities in balne−
ology and hygiene. It is also important to show his great influence on the development of health resort treatment
in Iwonicz Zdrój. This is a research article and the information contained herein comes from public archives and
scientific libraries, with particular focus on the Ossoliński National Institute in Wrocław (Adv Clin Exp Med
2008, 17, 1, 109–112).
Key words: Lutostański, balneologist, hygienist, journalist.
Streszczenie
Wszechstronnie wykształcony lekarz, doskonale władający piórem, uważany przez środowisko lekarskie za cho−
dzącą encyklopedię lekarską. Szczególnie poświęcił się higienie, balneologii oraz szeroko pojętej publicystyce.
W latach 1875–1877 był lekarzem zdrojowym Iwonicza. Współtwórca przemysłu zdrojowego i pierwszej ustawy
zdrojowej. Walczył o ochronę zasobów naturalnych środowiska, dzięki jego staraniom utworzono okręg ochronny
wokół uzdrowiska Iwonicz Zdrój, powstały w celu zabezpieczenia źródeł wód leczniczych przed zanieczyszcze−
niami. Nadzorował kolejne fazy badań chemicznych wód leczniczych Iwonicza. Pierwszy wyraźnie określił obo−
wiązki lekarza zdrojowego. Dzięki niemu w Iwoniczu powstały łazienki pierwszej klasy, w których wykonywano
kąpiele lecznicze, ponadto wodociąg i hydranty, wybudowano też 20−łóżkowy szpital zdrojowy. Był projektantem
i współtwórcą pierwszych wodociągów w Krakowie. Lutostański był również redaktorem i współautorem wielu
czasopism, m.in. drukował broszury informacyjne o Iwoniczu, a w 1889 r. został pierwszym redaktorem „Przewod−
nika Higienicznego”. Jego działalność dziennikarska nie została dotychczas opracowana. Celem artykułu jest
przedstawienie sylwetki tego znakomitego lekarza, ukazanie jego nowatorskich działań w dziedzinie balneologii,
higieny oraz wpływu na rozwój lecznictwa uzdrowiskowego w Iwoniczu Zdroju. Praca ma charakter poznawczy.
Wykorzystano w niej materiały archiwalne dostępne w archiwach państwowych, bibliotekach naukowych, ze
szczególnym uwzględnieniem zbiorów Zakładu Narodowego im. Ossolińskich z siedzibą we Wrocławiu (Adv
Clin Exp Med 2008, 17, 1, 109–112).
Słowa kluczowe: Lutostański, balneolog, higienista, dziennikarz.
110
Bolesław Lutostański was born on October 26,
1837, to Ludwik Lutostański and Teofilia Brze−
zińska. He attended secondary school in Warsaw
and then studied pharmacy and also worked in
a pharmacy. In 1857–1859 he studied at the
Academy of Medicine and Surgery in Warsaw, but
was expelled due to political activity. He contin−
ued his education in Kiev and other places. He was
an active participant in the January uprising of
1863. After being imprisoned in 1864 he was
given amnesty and banished from Austria. Having
completed his medical education in Heidelberg, he
returned to Krakow in 1867. He did not manage to
acquire a medical degree, so he was unable to
work as a physician. He began writing articles
about balneology, hygiene, and forensic medicine,
focusing mainly on the issue of statistics and the
necessity of introducing them in the area of
Galicia. He wrote for the Przegląd Lekarski
(“Medical Review”) and Kraj (“The Nation”)
magazines, in which he also appealed for the cre−
ation of health commissions and increased hygiene
in towns and cities. In 1870 he joined the
Towarzystwo Naukowe Krakowskie (Krakow
Scientific Society) and, after its transformation
into the Akademia Umiejętności (Academy of
Skills), he became its special member (December
22, 1870). He later became a member of the
Balneologic, Physiographic, and Anthropologic
Commission. In 1871 he practiced as a health
resort physician in Szczawnica.
In 1872–1874 he was the publisher of the
weekly summer−season health resort magazine
Zdrojowiska (“Health Resorts”). In 1874 he pub−
lished a brochure entitled Szczawnica w Galicji,
jej zdroje i urządzenia („Szczawnica in Galicia: Its
springs and equipment”). He worked as a health
resort physician in Iwonicz in 1875–1877, but was
removed by the authorities due to his not possess−
ing an Austrian medical certificate. He published
many works about health resorts and about Żegie−
stów (1876) and Krynica (1878).
In 1886 he initiated the creation of the first law
on health resorts in his scientific paper entitled
“The Health Resort Industry and a Law for the
Nation’s Health Resorts” (Przemysł zdrojowo−
−leczniczy i ustawa dla zdrojowisk krajowych). He
was a member of the Sanitation and Waterworks
Commission of the Krakow city council and also
participated in locating Krakow’s drinking water
sources. In 1879–1881 he worked on Krakow’s
waterworks project and was awarded for his work,
entitled “On the Krakow Waterworks (W sprawie
wodociągów krakowskich), by the Warsaw Medi−
cal Society in 1881.
The person of this marvelous physician,
hygienist, and publicist is considered to have had
J. KUCIEL−LEWANDOWSKA et al.
a vast influence on the development of many
health resorts, especially Iwonicz. Of all the physi−
cians employed at the health resort, he had the
highest qualifications. He was noted by his col−
leagues and his employer, Count Michał Załuski,
the owner of Iwonicz, as “...a balneological
celebrity.... honest... reliable character... who gives
Iwonicz a sufficient guaranty of success...” [1].
Only two years were enough for this physician to
increase the level of Iwonicz’s treatment. The
proof of Lutostański’s achievements was when
Iwonicz was awarded an honorary diploma during
the National Exhibition in Lvov in 1877 [2].
Lutostański edited and commented on
research and findings on the climate of Iwonicz
and judged it “...moderate and very health−friend−
ly...”, remarking, however, that the treatment peri−
od in Iwonicz should be lengthened. His observa−
tions were clearly described in his report of 1875.
He highlighted the significance of health−resort
treatment in various diseases among adults and
children.
Lutostański promoted the publication of
leaflets. These allowed the reader to compare the
climatic conditions of Iwonicz with those of other
cities in Galicia. Such juxtapositions confirmed the
beneficial qualities of the health resort and popular−
ized knowledge about climate therapy. He recom−
mended thorough climatic observations and precise
research to confirm the efficiency of health resort
treatment in Polish health resorts [3]. He planned to
establish a meteorological station, equipped with
devices from Vienna, in Iwonicz. It was thanks to
him that Iwonicz was granted a preservation zone,
an area where all mining was forbidden in order to
preserve the healing waters [4].
He supervised the subsequent phases of bal−
neo−chemical research. His activities led to the
creation of comfortable spa baths, necessary of
hydrotherapy. He also increased the level of
hygiene and decreased fire hazard by introducing
waterworks and hydrants in Iwonicz. Influenced
by scientific literature, he bought special devices
to heat the bath water. Production of the lye neces−
sary for healing baths was started after that. He
supported the establishing of the 20−bed health
resort hospital of St. Amelia.
In 1886 the Krakow publishing house Nowe
Reformy printed Lutostański’s article entitled “The
health−resort industry and a law for the nation’s
health resorts. Facts and comments” (Przemysł
zdrojowo−leczniczy i ustawa dla uzdrowisk kra−
jowych. Fakta i uwagi). The study contained
a thorough analysis and evaluation of Polish health
resort issues of that time. The scale and impor−
tance of the issues he presented were various.
They were educative pieces of the history of
Bolesław Lutostański (1837–1890)
Polish health resort treatment. They showed what
vast obstacles stood in the way of balneologists
who tried to give appropriate importance to health
resort treatment in the late 19th century. For exam−
ple, Lutostański was concerned about the enthusi−
asm for construction in health resorts, which
resulted in “...tightness, impurity, infestation of the
air, soil, and water...”. The chaos in this matter
very often led to environmental degradation, most−
ly in the state of the landscape, which is so impor−
tant in health resort treatment. The author found
a lack of proper sanitary supervision of country
areas surrounding health resorts. He highlighted
the neglect of hygiene in the countryside and took
note of the lack of official medical supervision of
food, market places, and private facilities connect−
ed with public health. The lack of elementary
hygienic measures was a serious threat to the
health of the health−resort patients. He appealed
for the introduction of specific actions to improve
this state of affairs in his writings.
He informed his readers of the vast resources
of curative waters in Poland and encouraged the
establishment of new health resort facilities. He
also believed that the newly built health resorts
could be a source of vast income. Economic and
healthcare considerations were sufficient to justify
the need for health protection and state healthcare
by giving the health resort the status of a public
good.
He was the first to define the duties of a health
resort physician: 1) ensuring all comforts and treat−
ment resources for all patients and fulfilling their
needs, 2) thorough care and accurate application of
treatment methods for individual cases, 3) articula−
tion of proper pros and cons of using healing
waters for various illnesses, internal as well as
external, 4) scrupulous evaluation of the real sig−
nificance of a health resort, gaining trust and
friendship among doctors as well as the public” [5].
These rules were as relevant in those times as
they are today, after 130 years. In Lutostański’s
opinion, the position of the health resort physician
was crucial for the development of the health resort.
Lutostański also struggled to preserve natural
resources such as woods, i.e. the climate factor of
treatment. He also wanted health resort treatment
to be given its proper significance, as he said it
was “...important for the country’s agriculture and
111
branches of industry...”, and he also aspired for the
health resort bill to be passed. He considered the
cutting down of forests to be a direct cause of
decreasing the amount of curative waters, lower−
ing of temperature, and climate sharpening [6].
He published three leaflets entitled Iwonicz.
Rok 1875, 1876, 1877. The first included various
valuable information about the work of a health
resort physician and he presented his balneostatis−
tic brochure, the necessity of preparing conifer
needle baths, inhalations, and opening a gymnastic
facility [7]. In Iwonicz. Rok 1876. Szpital w Iwo−
niczu he described the history of Iwonicz’s hospi−
tal and presented its developmental perspectives
[8]. In Iwonicz. Rok 1877 he presented the results
of research on Iwonicz’s curative waters [9].
Towards the end of his life he dedicated him−
self to journalism. In 1882–1887 he worked for the
magazine Reforma and later for Nowa Reforma. In
1889 he became the editor−in−chief of Przewodnik
Higieniczny and in June of the following year he
became the executive of a health resort in
Truskawiec. He died at the age of 52 on February
19, 1890, in Truskawiec [10].
Bolesław Lutostański’s deeds were of great
significance for the development of health resort
treatment, particularly for Iwonicz Zdrój, where he
worked in a wide variety of his specialties. He co−
−originated the health resort law and encouraged
the development of the health resort industry in
Poland. He also cared much about the protection
of natural resources. It was thanks to him that the
so−called protective zones were created to preserve
the healing water sources and to prevent degrada−
tion and pollution of the environment. He was
a pioneer in climate therapy. He had a vast influ−
ence on increasing hygiene in Iwonicz by creating
a waterworks system in the health resort. He also
worked to increase the level of hygiene in towns
and cities by trying to create health councils and
planning a waterworks system for Krakow, which
was a great advance in the area of the townspeo−
ple’s hygiene in those days. He was educated,
admired for his knowledge, and gifted with an
incredible memory and a receptive mind. He was
considered a “walking medical encyclopedia” and
used his knowledge and talents for Iwonicz and
other health resorts. One cannot forget his remark−
able journalistic skills.
References
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
Kwilecki A: Załuscy w Iwoniczu. Kórnik 1993, 137.
Dębicki K: Zakład zdrojowo−kąpielowy i klimatyczny. Lwów 1895, 15–19.
Lutostański B: Iwonicz. Rok 1875. Kraków 1876, 13.
Dębicki K: op. cit., 18.
Kwilecki A: op. cit., 130–131; Lutostański B: Ibidem. Lutostański B: Przemysł zdrojowo−leczniczy i ustawa dla
zdrojowisk krajowych. Fakta i uwagi. Drukarnia Związkowa A. Szyjewskiego. Kraków 1886, 16–17.
112
J. KUCIEL−LEWANDOWSKA et al.
[6] Paczuski R: Problemy uzdrowisk polskich sprzed stu lat. Refleksje oparte na traktacie Bolesława Lutostańskiego
z 1886 r. na temat przemysłu zdrojowo−leczniczego Polski. Probl. Uzdr. Zeszyt 9/10/239/240, 1987, 155–165;
Lutostański B: Przemysł zdrojowo−leczniczy..., 47.
[7] Lutostański B: Iwonicz. Rok 1875. Kraków 1876, 42.
[8] Lutostański B: Iwonicz. Rok 1876. Kraków 1877, 21.
[9] Lutostański B: Iwonicz. Rok 1876, op. cit., 31.
[10] Szarejko P: Słownik lekarzy polskich w XIX w. Warszawa. 1991, t. 1, 333–337.
Address for correspondence:
Jadwiga Kuciel−Lewandowska
Department of Physiotherapy
Silesian Piasts University of Medicine
Grunwaldzka 2
50−355 Wrocław
Poland
Tel.: +48 71 327 74 49
E−mail: [email protected]
Conflict of interest: None declared
Received: 13.12.2007
Revised: 7.02.2008
Accepted: 7.02.2008