Kronthaler Springs

After or during a hike, you can refresh your feet in the Kneipp pool. The pool is filled with spring water from the Nymphen spring. The second pool was designed - perhaps once as a "children's pool" - with a concrete floor and all kinds of concrete aquatic creatures. However, these were/are so sharp-edged that you couldn't in good conscience let your children in. Today, reed plants grow there.

The Kronthal source park is a historic garden with old trees. In the middle of the 16th century, a sour well was first mentioned in a document in the small valley. The sources continue to shape its history to this day. With the discovery of the healing properties of the water by the Kronberg medical officer Ferdinand Küster in 1818, the economic use of the Kronthal began.
Kronthal water

Kronthaler water was a top-ranking export for many years. As far as England and America, enterprising merchants sold what the Taunus let gush out into the open below Kronberg. Sparkling water is also exactly the right word for it: the term acidulous fountain traditionally stands for carbonated mineral water. According to the German Table Water Ordinance, a sour fountain must contain at least 250 mg/l of carbonic acid.

They were certainly not that precise when they discovered something above the confluence of the Rentbach and Schwalbach. Medical officer Küster had the first springs encased and smaller spa facilities built. In 1823, the Frankfurt merchant Johann Adam Osterrieth entered the scene and set up a public limited company in competition with the existing spa facilities.

Around 1840 the Kronthal experienced a heyday and was known far beyond today's national borders. It was also Osterrieth who had a spacious spa park laid out in the style of an English landscape garden. As far as can be seen from the sources, he and his sister Elisabeth went to work without further help from a landscape architect. Wide swinging paths, rare tree species and a successful topography were characteristic. There was also a large pond. It was in the area where today the Theodorusquelle gurgles in a meadow. In any case, the overall result was so convincing that it is now the basis for the redevelopment of the area.

The bottling plant in Kronthal was discontinued in 2005. Today you can still draw mineral water yourself from two springs. On hot summer days, it is a pleasure to take a Kneipp cure in the small, tiled water treading pool. The facility breathes the charm of bygone days - but the sign posted there for the regional park route "Safari - From Zoo to Zoo" with the red ibis species still puts a smile on everyone's face.
Source: regionalpark-rheinmain.de/portfolio-item/der-quellenpark-kronthal

The Kronthaler Quellen are three mineral springs located in the Kronthaler Quellen landscape park. They are open to the public and the water is also drinkable. However, the taste certainly takes some getting used to for one or the other.

In the immediate vicinity of the springs there is a Kneipp treading pool and some seating.