Hirschfeld Hermann (1825, Szczecinek – 19/06/1885, Kołobrzeg) – doctor, balneologist, creator of the mud-bath treatment method, local social activist.
He was born in Neustettin (Pol.: Szczecinek) and, from 1852, he lived in Colberg (Pol.: Kołobrzeg). From 1861, when a brine bath was established in Kołobrzeg, on ul. Spacerowa (previously called “Towarzyska” by Poles), Dr. Hirschfeld carried out his medical treatment there. The German Emperor gave him the honorary title of Sanitätsrat (Sanitation Councillor).
In 1882, he researched the composition of Kołobrzeg mud, in terms of its medical properties. It turned out that the mud, extracted in Kołobrzeg, contained exceptionally valuable ingredients, ones which were beneficial in the treatment of diseases of the musculo-skeletal system, including rheumatism. For this reason, the mud is often referred to as “Kołobrzeg Viagra”, although the influence of the mud, in this intimate sphere of life, has never been scientifically confirmed.
It was Hirschfeld who was the pioneer, popularising mud treatments in the Kołobrzeg health resort. He was also the attending physician at the Jewish Spa Hospital in Kołobrzeg (Jüdisches Kurhospital), serving there on a voluntary basis.
For almost thirty years, he wrote articles for the Kołobrzeg newspaper “Kolberger Zeitung für Pommern”. He was also socially active in the development of the city, the expansion of its infrastructure and in the opening of the resort to the needs of patients. In 1859, Hirschfeld’s guide for spa patients was publilshed both in German and in Polish.
Hirschfeld died in Kołobrzeg and was buried in the new Jewish cemetery. A year after the doctor’s death, in 1886, as a token of gratitude for his contribution to the development of balneology, a monument in his honour was erected in front of his house at Dietrich–Promenade 23 (now ul. Spacerowa).
He was the father of Magnus Hirschfeld, a doctor and sexologist.
Bibliography:
- Dose R., Die Familie Hirschfeld aus Kolberg, [w:] Der Sexualreformer Magnus Hirschfeld, Berlin 2004, pp. 33-64.
- Kroczyński H., Kronika Kołobrzegu, Kołobrzeg 2005.
