Healthy climate

Prof. Dr. med. Karl Wurm

Curative factors at Höchenschwand

The village of Höchenschwand owes its label “climatic resort”, among other reasons, to the particularities of its climate. I want to set out briefly the specific climatic conditions of Höchenschwand and its impacts on human beings regardless of the health conditions. Even for healthy people the impact of a change of meteorological and climatic conditions either at home or due to a stay at the seaside, in the high mountains or in far countries is immediately perceptible. The conducive effects of the climate on the development of diseases (for example: asthma, skin disorders, anaemia) is an undeniable fact of medical experience, being moreover subject of scientific research.

The quality of the climate is primarily determined by natural conditions. The geographical situation, the composition of the soil, the topography and the vegetation form are the natural facts at Höchenschwand.
The climatic research has found out a series of physiological impacts which are important for the human well-being and also more generally for biological processes. These correlations have been revealed by long-time measurements conducted by the meteorological research station of the German meteorological service at Freiburg.

The effects of sunshine are the most important. Thanks to the situation on the mountain crest at a height of 1015 metres, Höchenschwand can boast annually on average 1848 sunshine hours, being therefore the sunniest village of Germany. In this regard it is even more privileged than the Swiss town of Davos at a height of 1500, where the sun rises later and sinks earlier behind the high mountains. The sunshine frequency combines with a high radiation intensity. Given the low aerosol concentration in the air, there is only a slight radiation absorption and the radiation effect is particularly intensive due to the height and the favourable angle of incidence on the south-west slopes of the Black Forest falling down to the Rhine valley.

Two examples are instructive as to the physiological effect of sunshine: scientific research, dating back already several decades, on rachitis, a disease which has almost disappeared today, revealed the impact of short-wave sunlight radiation. The exposure of the skin to ultraviolet radiation stimulates the metabolic processes and provokes a general enhancement of the immune defence. The increased production of vitamin D favours in particular the bone metabolism.

There is another entirely new finding concerning the effects of light exposure: subsequent to a precedent cataract operation, it was detected, that the hardly measurable increased light intensity which reaches the retina after the removal of the clouded lenses stimulates the function of the suprarenal gland. The increased cortisol production has not only a wide variety of impacts on organic processes, but also a positive effect on the human mood.

Given the harmful air pollution in the urban centres, the air cleanness meets a primary need of the guest. The situation of Höchenschwand in the upper layer of the temperature inversion and the prevailing slight breeze provide for a constant renewal of the air. Generally, the concentration of harmful pollutants (nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, among others) is moreover low at Höchenschwand. Clean air is particularly beneficial in the case of disorders concerning the upper respiratory tract.
The air temperature is relatively moderate throughout the year, presenting an annual average of + 6,40 °C, an average maximum of 26,50 °C in June and a monthly minimum In January of – 13,40 °C. The high pressure periods in winter along with the temperature inversion, being characterized by warmth, sunshine and a wide view on the heights above the lower inversion layer in the Rhine valley with cold air under a fog layer, are for many people an extraordinary experience.
 
The “bracing” intensity of the climate is determined by the “cooling figure”, which depends on the temperatures and on the air current speeds. An absolute absence of wind occurs rarely at Höchenschwand. The almost permanent slight breeze impedes the existence of sultriness even in summer.
 
Due to the geographic situation the precipitation rate is relatively low. Precipitation culminates in December and hits the bottom in February. The occurrence of fog is a rare event. Thus the air is pleasantly dry and wholesome. Snow can already fall in October and the landscape is normally snow-covered from Christmas to the end of March, with the blanket reaching on average 80 centimetres.
 
The low atmospheric pressure at the higher altitude helps reducing considerably the partial oxygen pressure in the blood. This has in turn stimulating effects on the heart and respiration activity.
Beside the described physical climatic properties, other factors, however, still insufficiently studied, have to be taken into account, such as atmospheric electricity, earth magnetism, radiations, etc. According to generally recognized criteria, the low mountain range climate of Höchenschwand with its impacts perceptible for anyone has been attributed “level 3” in the climate classification by the meteorologists.
 
The physiological impact on the individual is always the result of several simultaneous effects. The response of the human being depends moreover on the individual physical and mental sensitivity. Therefore the perception of the wholesomeness of a certain climate varies not only considerably among healthy people, but depends also on the different diseases. This knowledge is taken into account in the health resort indications. Beside the enounced special impacts on certain functions of organs and on the metabolism, the benefit of the climate consists above all in the stimulation of defence mechanisms inherent to the immune system, which does not only result in an accelerated healing process but also in a diminished vulnerability to illness, what is commonly referred to as “reversal of predisposition”.
The landscape is after the climate the second most important specific healing factor of Höchenschwand. The health resort owes its leading position to the situation of the village with its still rural character amidst a charming landscape combined with the climatic assets. In this unobstructed countryside without any industry composed of meadows and fields regularly alternating with woods, the view to the far horizons and to the endless heaven has a deeply liberating effect. Even the “early bird” may admire at Höchenschwand for the first time, particularly in winter and spring, the beauty of dusk when the sun rises over the Alpine peaks. Anyone is deeply impressed at the view of the glaciers and snow fields of the seemingly so near Swiss Alps gleaming in the sunlight. In early summer and even more in autumn the guest can admire the “colour performances” of the sinking sun.
 
These permanent and various incentives to stay in the open air pushes both the holiday guest and the patient softly to relaxation and contemplation. For others such a landscape is an invitation for hiking and for practising sportive activities. Today, physical exercise has become an important element of a healthy life style or even a principle of self-therapy. The well-kept outdoor training trails are intended as another incentive to physical activity. A special trail map is available at the tourist board.
 
A wide variety of offers for physical exercise, sports, entertainment, dance, games and pleasure is a necessary supplementary infrastructure of a modern health resort, pretending to provide holistic medical treatment.