It is interesting to combine a visit to the Smraďoch Nature Reserve with an excursion to the nearby Farská (“Parish“) Mineral Spring (about 10 minutes). The Farská Mineral Spring, which seeps out at an altitude of 767 m ASL, is the highest captured acidulous spring in the Slavkovský Les Mts. It is cold hypotonic hydrogencarbonate-magnesium ferruginous acidulous water, with a higher content of metasilicic acid, a total mineralization of 554 mg/l and a carbon dioxide content of 2 500 mg/l.
The original pavilion was built here around 1896 and the present-day square basin with the octagonal wooden rim is reminiscent of the beginnings of balneology in the region. The pavilion was repaired in 2011 and a small tourist shelter built nearby.
The use of the Farská Mineral Spring for carbon baths and its transportation to Mariánské Lázně has started already in 1909. The more recent attempts to capture it date back to the 1980s, however the plans haven’t been realized yet, and thus the spring water’s typical taste may be still enjoyed at the site of the seep.
The water from the Farská Mineral Spring flows into an ochre coloured pond. An interesting alga from the diatom group Pinnularia ferophila, which was able to adapt to the iron-rich environment of the mineral seeps, survives in the pond. The pond is one of three places on Earth, where it occurs. The other two sites are as well located in the surroundings of Mariánské Lázně.
Cadastre: Mariánské Lázně
Composition type: hydrogen carbonate-magnesium-ferruginous cold acidulous water
Temperature (°C): 8
Capture dimensions (cm): 120x120
Capture: brick quadrate capture
Depth (cm): 60
Content of CO2 (mg/l): 2300
Sea level (m): 766
Images:
1. The Farská Mineral Spring, 1903
2. The pavilion of the Farská Spring, 2007
3. The pavilion of the Farská Spring, 2011
4. The Farská spring basin, 2007