Treatment or entertainment: two approaches to the development of resorts in Europe and Russia in the 18^th–19^th centuries

Background: Natural recreational spaces have been an important factor in health and longevity since Antiquity. The creation of resorts where natural factors can be used purposely and on a scientific basis was discussed in the 16th-17th centuries, and the 19th century became the time of active construction and development of resorts. The analysis of factors contributing to their development and sustainable reproduction over time is of practical interest.

Materials and methods: To create a retrospective of the development of resorts in Europe and Russia, the authors used special scientific publications, reference books, memoirs of contemporaries, and press materials. Another important, quite reliable, and complete source were passages from 19th-century literature, where resorts are not only commonly mentioned, but also described in considerable detail. Literature narrative often preserves for us private stories that reflect general trends that correspond to the place and historical context, and reveals for us the differences in views and cultures.

Results: The 18th–19th centuries are the time when health and longevity are transformed from biological into socio-cultural values. In the worldview of this period, any value lost its importance if it was separated from health or achieved by destroying a healthy lifestyle. However, immediately two opposite ethical approaches to the development of resorts were formed and opposed to each other – as a place of treatment or a place of entertainment that was harmful to health, but brought profit and stable development. Resorts also became a place where innovative and not always harmless methods of treatment appeared and were tested.

Conclusion: The authors believe that the two opposing approaches to the creation and development of resorts reflect the ethical contradictions that exist in views on medicine itself (especially curative medicine), as well as on its role in culture.