Are you looking to slow down and relax?
Then visit our St. Jakob brine garden. Not far from the center of Kevelaer, it offers you the opportunity to relax and take a deep breath. Enjoy healthy breathing in the surroundings of the graduation house. The "Kevelaer thermal brine" from our own spring and the irrigation via the blackthorn create salty air, so that you are surrounded by a "sea breeze" on the Lower Rhine.
The brine spring
In 1994, a valuable treasure was discovered in the meadow on the Hüls - the brine spring. The brine has trickled over layers of rock for thousands of years, washing out minerals and salts and is now being brought to light. It is stored deep underground, in layers of rock dating back to the Carboniferous period, i.e. around 300 million years old.
The St. Jakob brine garden gradually developed from this discovery. The centerpiece is the graduation house, which is accessible to everyone as an open-air inhalatorium. It is fed by the brine spring, which is located in the immediate vicinity. The iodine-rich water is pumped up from a depth of over 500 meters and transported to the graduation house via an underground pipeline.
A wooden pump house was built above the brine spring. The seating invites you to linger with a view of the St. Jakob brine garden.
The graduation house
The heart of the St. Jakob brine garden can be seen from afar: the graduation house in Kevelaer is around 12 meters high and has a diameter of approximately 25 meters. Its shell shape and accessibility make the graduation house unique in Germany.
Use the Kevelaer thermal brine for your health. Take a seat on one of the loungers in the indoor and outdoor areas of the graduation house or stroll around the building and consciously breathe in the salty air. You can find out more about the graduation house here.
The inhalatorium
It only takes a few minutes and then you can taste it: a little salt on your lips - these are the tiny aerosols that enrich the air in the inhalatorium. Just a few steps away from the graduation house, you can let the saline water have an even more intensive effect on your airways. This is because the nebulization allows the fine aerosols to penetrate deeper into the finest branches of the bronchial tubes.
There is room for a total of 19 people inside the inhalatorium. Due to its location on a hill, visitors have an optimal view of the entire St. Jakob brine garden. Like the entire brine garden, access to the inhalatorium is barrier-free. The 30-minute sessions start every full and half hour. Further information about the inhalatorium can be found here.
The park
The St. Jakob brine garden reflects the "healthy body and soul" approach practiced in Kevelaer. In addition to the graduation house and the inhalatorium, a park and adjoining restaurant invite you to linger. There is an information building in the park with numerous brochures. You will also find the sanitary facilities here.
Airway
Breathe in and out deeply, breathe consciously. The breathing path with twelve stations encourages you to do this. All twelve stations are equipped with small boards containing exercise instructions. And if you want, you can download all the tips and information to your cell phone using a QR code.
Kneipp facilities
Sebastian Kneipp discovered the healing power of water for health. Use the Kneipp facilities to tread water, where you can walk through the cold, almost knee-high Kevelaer water in the pool like the proverbial "stork in a salad". Or use the arm pool to stimulate your circulation and strengthen your immune system.
Bible garden
The Bible garden enables a sensory experience and re-enactment of the Holy Scriptures. On a winding path, the individual areas are reminiscent of various biblical passages through their planting.
Barefoot path
Experience the special tingling sensation when you simply take off your shoes and let the soles of your feet feel a variety of surfaces and materials.
Atrium
The atrium with its curved shape offers visitors to the graduation house additional seating to inhale the soothing thermal brine. With 48 seats in three rows, whole groups of guests can also listen to the tour guides' explanations here. The natural stone blocks from a quarry in Anröchte have a seating area of 50 x 50 cm and are 45 cm high. The stones for the footpath between the rows of seats have not come quite so far: they were previously located on Kapellenplatz and thus now form an arc true to the guiding principle of "Healthy in body and soul". Floor lights provide a special atmosphere in the evening hours.
Herb wall
To the side of the information building, around 200 herbs enchant you with their scent. From "herbal greetings from the south" with rosemary, oregano and sage, for example, to "grandma's kitchen herbs" such as lovage and peppermint and "medicinal herbs according to Sebastian Kneipp" with caraway and chamomile. There are also "herbs for the soul" such as St. John's wort and valerian as well as "healing wild herbs" such as lungwort and nasturtium.
Boules courts
Two boules courts, each with two lanes and a view of the graduation house, invite you to play a "quiet game". Which team will place their balls closer to the "little pig"?
Play and sport
The St. Jakob brine garden is rounded off with play equipment for younger visitors. There is also a volleyball court and outdoor fitness equipment. Sports and games equipment can be rented from the SportBox via an app.
Further information
Would you like to find out more about health in the St. Jakob brine garden or are you interested in the tourist attractions in Kevelaer? Then take a look at the Kevelaer Marketing website.