The Legend of the Świeradów Frog and Radon Mineral Water

A Berlin doctor, Leonard Thurneyssen, taking a stroll in Świeradów-Zdrój, the former Bad Flinsberg, noticed a dead frog lying in one of the springs. It would not have aroused the doctor's curiosity, were it not for the fact that during a subsequent walk to the springs he noticed that the frog was not decomposing. Intrigued by what he had seen, in book ten, chapter twenty of his 1572 work he included a short mention of Świeradów mineral waters with an indication of their healing properties:

"We have already mentioned in book seven, chapter forty four the healing springs which have the same properties and abilities as those which jut out in Kwisa river valley by the Czech border in the mountains, four degrees from the ground, near Mirsk and Kamienica (Old Kamienica – Stara Kamienica)".

However it was only in 1739 that a medical board was established by count Schaffgotsch, made up of expert doctors from Mirsk and Lwówek Śląski as well as a physicist from Gryfów Śląski to test the chemical composition of the waters. As a result they were declared to be healing waters.

That discovery finally confirmed that the springs in Świeradów-Zdrój are radon rich and immortalised the frog.

Today that FROG is one of the town's symbols and still helps in promoting it to the outside world.