On the Town of Meran in Tyrol, Its Surroundings, and Its Climate.

Together with observations on milk, whey, and grape cures and nearby mineral springs.

(With map of the surroundings. – Vienna, printed (45 pages) by A. Strauß's late widow. – 1837)

Preface.

In setting down what I observed in Meran, it is by no means my intention to provide a complete topography of the town and its surroundings. My stay there was too eventful and too brief to accomplish what must be left to longer and closer observation. I wished to make the advantages of the climate of this region clearer to outsiders and to indicate the manifold remedies that present themselves here to the sick. At the same time, I sought to offer suggestions to the inhabitants concerning general health and prosperity. If I have achieved this purpose, if I have been able to be useful to my fellow human beings and citizens, my most heartfelt wishes are fulfilled. The author.

(Ed. note) The book represents a historical milestone for the region. It is the work published in Vienna in 1837 "Ueber die Stadt Meran in Tirol, ihre Umgebung und ihr Klima" by Dr. Johann Nepomuk Huber. This book of only 45 pages is considered the birth of Meran as a world-renowned spa town, where he stayed with Princess Mathilde von Schwarzenberg.

The full title: "Ueber die Stadt Meran in Tirol, ihre Umgebung und ihr Klima: Nebst Bemerkungen über Milch-, Molken- und Traubenkur und nahe Mineralquellen."

The background: Dr. Huber was the personal physician to the ailing Princess Mathilde Schwarzenberg. He treated her in Meran and observed the positive effect of the mild, Mediterranean climate and local natural remedies on her health. Moreover, he had distinguished himself greatly the previous year (1836) in combating cholera in Meran.

The impact: With this medical treatise, he introduced the therapeutic advantages of Meran to the Viennese imperial court and far beyond the borders for the first time. He thereby laid the scientific foundation for later "cures," which decades later also attracted prominent figures such as Empress Sisi.