© SalzburgerLand Tourismus - Andreas Kocher
To delve into the healing powers of nature, to perceive its secrets and to use them meaningfully has always been the aspiration of humans. Herbalism is among the oldest healing techniques on the whole. To this day, herbal experts such as Hildegard of Bingen and Sebastian Kneipp serve as great examples of herbalism in the Central European region. They already knew about the medicinal effect of cowslip, thyme, violet and ribwort. They wrote down their knowledge and passed it on to those interested.
Everything I recommend in my pharmacy is not hard for poor people to get, since God’s little herbs grow in free nature (Sebastian Kneipp)
To this day the knowledge of healing has been applied and further developed by a generation of herbal experts for the next generation. For the farmers in SalzburgerLand, the herb garden in front of the house was always the basis of the “on-site pharmacy”. The nuns also knew how to help themselves with the healing power of nature. They made medicinal ointments, tinctures and essences from the gathered herbs. Naturally the perfectly healthy herbs also found their well-deserved place in the kitchen: as tea, as an ingredient for spreads, soups and pastries, and as the basis for precious herbal salt. So it is no wonder that the compiled knowledge of the TEH (Society for Traditional European Healing) was not to be found in reference books, but rather in the handwritten cookbooks of farmer’s wives and pastor’s cooks.
Discover medicinal herbs while hiking
Herbal experts know exactly which herb is known for which effect. They began to lay out their own herbal trails so that all of their favourite herbs are also all together. This also applies whether it is in a farm garden that was already tended by the grandmother with great care, or in a monastery garden next to mallows and rose trees, which also have their place in herbalism. And so many dairymaids also prepared their own trail for the special medicinal mountain pasture herbs. For interested visitors, there are guided tours through the on-site herb garden. Authentic participation courses, cooking workshops and exciting presentations bring the secret world of medicinal herbs closer to those interested.
