Ramlösa hälsobrunn ('Ramlösa health well') () is a mineral spa located in Ramlösa in southeastern Helsingborg, Sweden, founded on 17 June 1707 by Johan Jacob Döbelius. The well was built around a chalybeate (iron-containing) spring, which Döbelius investigated in 1701, 1705 and 1706. During the 18th century, the reputation of the well increased and it was visited by guests from both Sweden and Denmark.
Ramlösa well had its heyday in the early 19th century, when several members of the royal family and members of the nobility visited the facility regularly. In the late 1890s, a new and more mineral-rich alkaline spring was found, which was the start of bottled water in the country and the modern Ramlösa company. At the same time, the original activity of the mineral spa declined, and it was finally closed in 1973. Following threats of development in the 1970s, several of the buildings were protected as listed buildings and almost the entire park was classified as a protected area within the listed buildings designation.
History
Discovery and establishment
Rumors about the chalybeate springs in Ramlösa and their curative effect had existed for a long time. During the Scanian War of 1675–1679, Charles XI's soldiers were said to have come there to recuperate. In Sven Lagerbring's description of the life of the field marshal Count Ascheberg, , it is stated that in 1677, soldiers who were plagued by field sickness (, outdated term for infectious gastrointestinal ailments among troops) recovered after quenching their thirst at the spring at Ramlösa. At the end of the war, in 1679, the Swedish headquarters were located in Western Ramlösa. The governorate physician and professor of medicine at Lund University, Johan Jacob Döbelius, drew attention to the well water in Ramlösa at the beginning of the 18th century. Although he had been warned by the inhabitants of the village about robbers in the forest where the spring was located, he examined the water several times: in 1701, 1705 and 1706. The water had the same composition as the water in several of Sweden's () [well containing naturally carbonated water with high iron content]: iron in the form of carbonated iron oxide. After this, Döbelius wrote about how the water's curative effect counteracted several ailments:
Döbelius turned to the then-governor of Scania, Magnus Stenbock, who gave permission, and help, to clear around the well. On 17 June 1707, on the 25th birthday of Charles XII, the well was inaugurated. A thousand people had gathered at the well to drink its water, but when Döbelius pointed out that they had to stay at the well for a longer period of time, the number of patients was reduced to about 40. In 1708, Döbelius published a book entitled ('Description of the invention of the Ramlösa health and , its location, nature, effect and proper use'), in which he tells of patients for whom the mineral water had an effect. The year after the opening, several patients returned and word of the well spread, especially among the gentry, thanks to Döbelius' dual role as a prominent physician and businessman. The well developed into a clinic and hospital where many sick people went to drink the water. The treatment likely consisted of drinking 15 to 17 glasses of the Ramlösa water every morning to cleanse the body. In addition, a lively entertainment life developed, with people from various social classes gathering to socialize in the spring's surroundings.
After Döbelius, medical doctor Hans Roslin took over the well in 1713, but when he was appointed provincial physician in Kristianstad, he lost contact with the facility and in 1727 the city physician in Malmö, Kilian Stobæus, was instead appointed as well doctor. It was largely thanks to Stobæus that Ramlösa's reputation as a health resort grew, largely because of his good contacts, including in Denmark, but also because of his popularity as a doctor; although Stobæus was sickly and had a limp, he always cared for his patients. Stobæus had several disciples, among them Carl Linnaeus, and he remained as a well doctor until his death in 1742, although his followers took care of the patients in the later years.
Linnaeus was to return to Ramlösa, together with his student Olof Söderberg, during his trip to Scania in 1749. During his visit to Helsingborg, he stayed with the mayor, Petter Pihl the Younger, at his residence , and then travelled from there to Ramlösa mineral spa. Regarding the well, Linnaeus wrote:
Around the middle of the 18th century, a long timber-framed well house was built with only five guest rooms. Most of the guests at Ramlösa well instead rented accommodation from locals. The same year Carl Linnaeus visited Ramlösa, 1749, architect and court superintendent Carl Hårleman also visited the well. Hårleman described the well's guests, who during his stay consisted of retired soldiers and ordinary peasants as well as diplomats and civil servants. Hårleman had a runestone erected to commemorate his stay at the well. The stone was placed on the hill opposite the well house and the runic inscription reads:
Before Hårleman's visit, the area around the spring had not been maintained in any particular way, but had retained its natural form. In his memoirs, Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm describes how his mother, on a visit in the 1730s, had found the mineral spa divine in its primitive appearance, describing it as "made only by nature, but so marvelous that art could not have better established it". Hårleman became one of the initiators of the rehabilitation of the spring. The area was enclosed, new trees were planted and new roads and paths were laid out.
Company establishment
Ramlösa well flourished under the stewardship of from 1760 until his death in 1796. During this time, the number of visitors increased considerably and attempts were made to purchase land adjacent to the well so that a new hotel could be built there with room for 200 guests. However, none of the neighboring farms were willing to sell, as they would then lose income from the well's guests who rented accommodation for the summer. To capitalize on the well's popularity, a limited company was set up to raise capital for the maintenance of the facilities. The first owners consisted mainly of Scanian landowners, but also of doctors and merchants. The first board of directors consisted of County Governor , Major General , Secretary of State , merchants Carl Magnus Tönningh and , then-well doctor and Baron (friherre) Rutger Macklean. In the same year, a request was sent to the king, Gustav IV Adolf, to acquire new land in this way. The king not only granted the purchase, but also had a plan drawn up for the well's expansion, and von Rosen thus succeeded, through the state, in buying half a manor () in Köpinge for the well. In 1801, the well received its first royal privileges, which stipulated that it was entitled to charge for the water from the well's guests. The fee for the well house was one riksdaler. Wealthier people had to pay two riksdaler and the common people 24 shillings. The priest, bell-keeper and well-keeper were paid at discretion. However, the poor could still drink from the water free of charge. With the help of the new share capital of 16,000 riksdaler, it was possible to expand the facility; for example, the well house was rebuilt, a new guesthouse – now the doctor's villa – was added, new stables were built, and four new buildings for guest rooms were constructed. A bathhouse was built on the beach between Helsingborg and Råå, where guests were taken by horse-drawn carriage, but it burned down in 1811. The bathhouse was located on the town's land. It was 28 ells long and 15 ells wide and had been donated to the well by one of the members of the well board, Tönningh. In addition, several landowning families built villas around the park, including the Trolle, , Hamilton and Wedderkopp families.
The guests of the well stayed in Ramlösa or Köpinge and also in Helsingborg. Drinking from the well was accompanied by loud music. There was dancing every Sunday and Thursday between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. There was also a visit to the Comedie House in Helsingborg. Twice a week collections were made for the poor and medicines were also given to them for free. There was no hospital, so the poor were accommodated in barns and lodges in Ramlösa and Köpinge. In 1802 a special dwelling house was built for the poor. The number of guests had increased over the years: in 1796: 74, in 1797: 55, in 1798: 81, in 1800: 106 and in 1801: 110. If the poor were also included, the number of guests at the well was almost 200.
von Platen and von Dannfelt
Due to the many new buildings, the capital soon ran out, which meant that the court marshal proposal to lease Ramlösa Well for 50 years was gladly accepted. Together with the well doctor Eberhard Zacharias Munck af Rosenschöld, von Platen was responsible for the well's new glory days, von Platen through his investments and expansions of the facility and Munck af Rosenschöld through his contacts who built up the reputation of the mineral spa as a social haven. In 1807, for example, von Platen had the first hotel built within the grounds of the well: the "" – a long and wide two-storey timber-frame building with a large salon, two halls and four large guest rooms on the ground floor and 20 guest rooms in total. He also built new stables for a total of 44 horses and ten carriages and made improvements to the park. Five barrels of the 70 barrels of land to the west of the park owned by the well were set aside for gardens and the planting of 100 fruit trees. Despite doctor Munck af Rosenschöld's many disagreements with King Charles XIV John, as a liberal member of parliament, many members of the royal family visited the park regularly. Crown Prince Oscar (later Oscar I) in particular was a frequent visitor. The royal splendor attracted Scanian society, as well as much of the capital's upper class, to balls and other events. The period was depicted by the publicist as follows:
In 1824, von Platen transferred the well to Colonel for 18,000 riksdaler and soon Dannfelt also owned the majority of the well's shares. Dannfelt built on what von Platen had started; for example, he rebuilt the bathhouse at Öresund and a new hospital was built in the eastern side of the area with room for 80 patients. The park was further refurbished in the romantic English style, with walkways designed to attract visitors. During this time, entertainment was lively and several balls and concerts were held at the well, guests could rent horses for excursions, and there were opportunities for card and billiard games. In 1824, Charles XIV John visited the park and the possibility of building a special residence for the royal family was discussed when they visited the well. But when the plans were presented in Stockholm the following year, the king had changed his mind and instead chose to donate a sum of 8,000 riksdaler to the park, to be used to subsidize stays for those who could not afford to rent the well themselves. This donation laid the foundations for what was to become the well hospital, which was completed in 1835. It became one of the most lavish buildings in the park and housed 46 hospital beds. In 1828, Queen Désirée visited the well and in her honor Dannfelt had a "Queen's Garden" planted in front of the house she lived in, now known as Villa Desideria.
Frequent changes of ownership and the new company